CHARLOTTE — A year after being ranked among the top cities for widespread financial distress, Charlotte has improved its placement on that list.
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A new WalletHub analysis places Charlotte 11th among the 100 largest U.S. cities with the most residents in financial distress, based on data collected as of Jan. 21. That’s down from No. 5 last year.
WalletHub defines financial distress as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments.
The 2026 report examined nine metrics across six categories, including average credit score, share of people with accounts in distress, average number of distressed accounts, change in bankruptcy filings between September 2024-25, and online search interest for “debt” and “loans.”
The study draws from figures provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Google Ads and WalletHub’s own data to calculate each city’s weighted score.
Read more on CBJ’s website here.
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