Kansas Tops U.S. Financial Distress Ranking at 55.0 as Maine Posts Lowest Score of 14.8
Updated
Updated · Visual Capitalist · Aug 11
Kansas Tops U.S. Financial Distress Ranking at 55.0 as Maine Posts Lowest Score of 14.8
2 articles · Updated · Visual Capitalist · Aug 11
Summary
Kansas led WalletHub’s 2026 state financial-distress ranking with a score of 55.0, ahead of Louisiana at 53.9 and Florida at 52.0.
3.9% of Kansans had accounts in distress, non-business bankruptcy filings rose nearly 12% from a year earlier, and the state ranked near the top for debt- and loan-related Google searches.
Louisiana stood out for the depth of strain, with about 12% of residents holding a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments, while Florida logged one of the biggest year-over-year increases in distressed accounts.
Eight of the 11 highest-scoring states were in the South, though Texas ranked fourth at 49.9 and California eighth at 46.8, showing pressure extends beyond one region.
Maine had the lowest distress score at 14.8; Kansas’ reading was more than 40 points higher and roughly 3.7 times as large.
With household debt hitting $18.8 trillion, what hidden economic forces propelled Kansas to become America's most financially distressed state in 2026?
As credit delinquencies surge past 13 percent, why are massive economies mirroring the severe financial distress of smaller southern states?