- The number of U.S. consumers with the best credit scores making late payments doubled in the last year
- U.S. consumer debt has been rising steadily, now nearly $18.4 trillion
- Overall U.S. credit scores are dropping and an increasing number of households could be facing delinquencies
U.S. consumers who occupy the top tier of credit worthiness are falling behind on payments at double the rate they were this time last year, according to a new report from a leading credit scoring company.
The number of super prime consumers with credit scores in the 781-850 range who are more than 90 days behind on debt repayments is up 109% over this time last year, according to VantageScore tracking. Those in the prime credit score range of 661-780 who are more than 90 days in arrears on payments rose 47% in the last 12 months.
“Consumers in the highest VantageScore credit tiers are showing increased signs of credit stress on a year-over-year basis,” Susan Fahy, VantageScore executive vice president and chief digital officer, said in the report. “We’re also seeing a marked divergence in secured versus unsecured lending. Balances are increasing for auto loans and mortgages, while new credit originations are down. Sustained inflation for car and house prices is driving higher balances in these credit categories.”
And the new data suggests even more U.S. consumers are seeing their credit ratings slip amid ongoing inflationary pressures and slowing wage growth.
VantageScore reports overall consumer credit scores dropped to 701 in July, down one point from June. And the lowest credit rating tier, the subprime group of consumers with scores in the 300-600 range, grew by 0.6 points from 18.1% to 18.7% between July 2023 and July 2025, swelling the ranks of consumers more likely to face repayment challenges, according to the report. Conversely, the prime tier shrunk by 1.4% over the same period.
In relative terms the sharpest increase in delinquencies was seen in super prime and prime customers who are typically considered the most financially secure, Rikard Bandebo, chief economist at VantageScore, told Reuters.
“Even though in absolute terms the increase is modest, it shows that even consumers considered the most credit-healthy are also beginning to see some stress with regard to repayments,” Bandebo said.
U.S. consumer debt on the rise
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Household Debt and Credit report for the second quarter of the year, finding household debt balances increased by $185 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a 1% rise from the previous quarter. Balances now stand at $18.39 trillion and have increased by $4.24 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.
The percentage of U.S. consumers who are delinquent on debt repayments has been on the rise for the past several years and moved up 0.1% from the first to second quarters of 2025. As of the end of June, 4.4% of overall consumer debt was in some stage of delinquency, according to the report.
Those who saw their debt transition into serious delinquency, defined as 90 or more days past due, were largely stable for auto loans and credit cards in the second quarter of 2025; edged up slightly for mortgages and home equity loans; and rose sharply for student loans. And, about 131,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports in April-June, 2025 period.
As of the end of June, U.S. consumers were carrying over $1.209 trillion in credit card debt, up from $1.18 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2025 but down slightly from the all-time high of $1.211 trillion recorded at the end of December 2024.
Utah credit card holders are about in the middle of the pack when it comes to how much credit card debt they are carrying. According to state-level data released earlier this month by LendingTree, Utah credit card holders were carrying an average balance of $7,431 as of the end of March.