Austin residents are 9th most financially distressed in U.S.

A new study has confirmed what many locals are already feeling: Austin has one of the highest shares of people in financial distress in the nation.

Austin ranked No. 9 in WalletHub’s just-released report, “Cities with the Most People in Financial Distress,” which analyzed 100 of the largest U.S. cities across nine personal finance metrics: average credit scores and year-over-year changes; the share of residents with accounts in distress and year-over-year changes; the average number of accounts in distress; year-over-year change in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025; and “debt” and “loans” search interest indexes.

For the purpose of this study, WalletHub defined “financial distress” as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments.

The top three cities with the most people in financial distress are Chicago (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), and Las Vegas, Nevada (No. 3).

The analysis found Austin residents had the No. 1 highest increases in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025.

Here’s how WalletHub broke down Austin’s overall ranking:

No. 9 – “Debt” search interest index rankNo. 11 – “Loans” search interest index rankNo. 26 – Average number of accounts in distress rankNo. 38 – People with accounts in distress rankNo. 90 – Credit score rankHigh unemployment rates and inflation are major factors contributing to most Americans’ financial woes, the report said, and rising property taxes can create an even bigger burden for homeowners and renters alike. Texas residents may feel a greater burden than residents elsewhere in the country after the Lone Star State was dubbed the No. 1 most most financially distressed state in America in 2025. And digging oneself out of the “downward spiral” isn’t easy, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

“You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off,” Lupo said.

No Texas city is feeling the financial squeeze as much as Houston, which ranked as the second-most financially distressed city nationwide for 2026.

“Houston has a high share of the population with accounts in distress compared to most other cities, at over 8 percent, and it also has a high number of accounts in distress per person,” the report said. “Similar to Chicago, Houston also shows some of the highest Google search interest in the country for terms like “debt” and “loans,” indicating a strong need for borrowing.”

Dallas (No. 4) and San Antonio (No. 6) also ranked among WalletHub’s top 10 most financially distressed U.S. cities for 2026.

The top 10 most financially distressed cities in the nation are:

No. 1 – ChicagoNo. 2 – HoustonNo. 3 – Las VegasNo. 4 – DallasNo. 5 – Los AngelesNo. 6 – San AntonioNo. 7 – AtlantaNo. 8 – New YorkNo. 9 – AustinNo. 10 – Phoenix