Here are the cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates

By Daniel Miller
Published  November 8, 2024 3:01pm EST
FOX TV Stations

FILE-Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million)

The Brief

    • New Orleans ranks first as the city with the highest student loan delinquency rate in the country.
    • Student loan borrowers in some cities struggling to pay household expenses may contribute to them being delinquent on student loan payments, according to WalletHub’s report.
    • Currently, the nation's student loan debt is $1.6 trillion.

Student loans are putting a financial strain on millions of borrowers in the U.S. 

With the nation’s student loan debt at $1.6 trillion, borrowers in certain cities have an easier time managing their student loan payments than others. 

WalletHub released a report examining cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates. The team gathered company data on consumer delinquency rates from Q3 2024 to create the rankings.

RELATED: These states have the highest student loan debt among millennials

The three cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates are New Orleans, Chandler, Arizona, and Bakersfield, California. 

Here is a breakdown of the delinquency rates in the cities. 

New Orleans 

New Orleans ranks first with the most delinquent rates on student loans, with over 3% of loans in delinquent status as of Q3 2024, according to WalletHub. 

Borrowers in New Orleans also have a lot of student loan debt, ranking in the 11th percentile of the nation. The report noted that this could factor into a higher-than-average delinquency rate because student loan payments are possibly larger there compared to other cities. 

RELATED: Student loan forgiveness: Biden cancels another $1.2B in debt for public service workers

Chandler, Arizona 

Chandler, Arizona has the second-most delinquent rates on student loans. Roughly 2.6% of student loans in the city were in delinquent status as of Q3 2024, WalletHub noted. 

Borrowers in Chandler do not have much student loan debt overall, ranking in the 71st percentile of the U.S. However, WalletHub explains in their report that conditions have likely changed in Chandler since the start of 2024, since it ranked 32nd among cities paying off the most household debt during Q1 2024. 

Bakersfield, California 

The city with the third-highest delinquency rate on student loans is Bakersfield, California, at nearly 2.4%. 

According to WalletHub, Bakersfield has one of the highest delinquency rates in the U.S. given that the city ranks in the 90th percentile for student loan debt that borrowers in Bakersfield have. The report noted that borrowers facing struggles with other forms of debt could be contributing to them being late on student loan payments too. Additionally, Bakersfield is the city with the eighth-highest overall delinquency rate. 

Below is the list of the top cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates. 

Cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates 

  1. New Orleans
  2. Chandler, Arizona
  3. Bakersfield, California
  4. Pittsburgh
  5. Baltimore
  6. St. Louis
  7. Lubbock, Texas
  8. Plano, Texas
  9. Gilbert, Arizona
  10. Durham, North Carolina
  11. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  12. Chula Vista, California
  13. Philadelphia
  14. Anchorage, Alaska
  15. Cincinnati
  16. Reno, Nevada
  17. Washington, D.C.
  18. Jacksonville
  19. Tampa
  20. Houston

The full list of cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates can be found here. 

The Source

  • Information for this story was provided by WalletHub, which used its company data on consumer delinquency rates from 2024 to produce its rankings of cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.