A recent article featured in Bloomberg uses VantageScore CreditGauge data to demonstrate that household finances all over the US are feeling the pinch of high borrowing costs, with swing-state voters under the greatest pressure.

VantageScore CreditGauge data revealed that credit card delinquencies are running above the national average in six of the seven ‘swing states,’ or states expected to be decisive in November’s presidential election. On various important measures of financial strain voters in election battlegrounds seem to be in a tougher spot than most Americans.

Below are CreditGauge insights into how the swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – fare in two common categories of household debt: credit cards and auto loans.

Credit Cards
Interest rates on US credit cards climbed to multi-decade highs above 20% as the Fed tightened monetary policy to rein in pandemic inflation. That has triggered growing difficulties with repayments, and an increase in early-stage delinquencies. According to VantageScore, “the share of card payments across the US that are between 30 and 59 days past due jumped to 0.69% at the end of the second quarter, almost double the rate four years earlier.

In swing states, the numbers are higher: Except for Wisconsin, all of them posted delinquency rates above the national average. In that group, Pennsylvania saw the sharpest increase over the period, followed by Georgia and Michigan.”

Consumers in battleground states are still facing financial pressure with delinquency rates higher than they were two years ago, though they’ve eased since the start of 2024,” said Susan Fahy, EVP and Chief Digital Officer at VantageScore.

Auto Loans
CreditGauge data reveals more Americans are falling behind on their auto loan payments, with the stress spread across the country. The national average rate for auto loan delinquencies doubled from four years earlier, to above 2%. 

“Among the swing states, Georgia and North Carolina had auto delinquency rates significantly higher than the national average — putting indebted car-owners there at higher risk of having their vehicles repossessed — while in Wisconsin and Michigan they were lower.” 

CreditGauge is VantageScore’s monthly analysis of U.S. consumer credit health. Catch up on the latest CreditGauge insights here: https://www.vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge/.

Read the full article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-11/swing-state-consumers-hurt-more-than-most-in-credit-card-squeeze