Credit Card Delinquency Increased More In This Bay Area City Than Anywhere In The U.S.

FREMONT, CA — The same city that was consistently named the happiest in America, was also just identified as the city where credit card delinquency has increased the most.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, announced the City of Fremont has seen credit card delinquency rise more than any other city in the U.S.

“Fremont’s rising delinquency rate may have less to do with new debt and more to do with the growing difficulty of managing existing balances,” said Adam McCann, a WalletHub finance writer.

Credit card delinquency is measured by how many days late your payment becomes. This determines when credit card companies will report you as being late to the credit bureaus and how much it will damage your credit score.

To determine the cities most delinquent on credit cards, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities where they could obtain data on consumer delinquency rates in quarter 1 of 2024 and quarter 1 of 2025.

In Fremont, credit card delinquency has risen by nearly 29% from 2024 to 2025. The city ranked No. 84 in the U.S. for credit card debt in 2025.

Constant inflation and higher interest rates may be stretching household budgets, making it more difficult for residents to stay current on payments, according to WalletHub.

“If you miss a credit card payment, don’t panic. Your issuer won’t report you as delinquent to the credit bureaus until you’re 30 days late. You’ll still have to deal with any late fee or penalty rate consequences your issuer decides to implement, but if you can manage to get current before 30 days are up, you can avoid a big credit score hit,” said John Kiernan, a WalletHub editor. “In addition, if you’re unable to make payment due to financial difficulty, you can always ask if your issuer has a hardship plan that may allow you to skip payments, avoid fees or get a lower interest rate temporarily.”

Here are the top 10 cities where credit card delinquency has increased the most:

1. Fremont, CA
2. Plano, TX
3. Seattle, WA
4. Spokane, WA
5. Newark, NJ
6. Santa Ana, CA
7. Anchorage, AK
8. Washington, DC
9. Jersey City, NJ
10. Virginia Beach, VA