Missing a payment on an auto loan can carry with it more than the potential for a late fee. Your record of making payments on time is the most important factor in your credit scores, and just one delinquent payment can seriously impact your credit rating. Lenders check credit scores, such as a FICO® Score☉ , to gauge your overall creditworthiness, and delinquent payments can make it harder to secure financing in the future.
Being late on an auto loan payment by a few days or weeks may result in a late fee, but the consequences get more severe once you hit the 30-day mark. When a payment is 30 days late, it gets reported to the credit bureaus as delinquent. A late payment stays on your credit report for seven years and can affect your scores the entire time it's there. However, the impact of a late payment becomes less severe as time passes and more on-time payments are made.
An auto loan uses the vehicle as collateral, and lenders are within their rights to claim it in the event of nonpayment. If a borrower continues to miss payments, the vehicle is at risk of repossession.
There are many personal and financial factors that contribute to why an individual may be delinquent on an auto loan, from changes in household income to uncertainties in a fluctuating job market. Predatory auto dealers are also a factor in some areas. Some dealers use aggressive tactics to pressure or mislead consumers into taking on high auto loans they have neither the credit rating nor income to afford. To protect consumers, the Federal Trade Commission targets predatory auto dealerships and lenders that use such tactics.
To better understand consumer auto loan delinquencies across the U.S., Experian analyzed auto delinquency data for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. All 50 states—and Washington, D.C.—were ranked according to the percentage of consumer auto accounts ever 30 days past due, and ties were broken by the percentage of auto accounts at least 60 days past due.
Percent of Auto Financing Accounts Ever 30 or More Days Past Due
National Trends
There were higher-than-average rates of delinquency among states in the South and along the Atlantic coast. Explaining such a trend is complex, but one factor could be a state's poverty level. Several of the states shown to have some of the highest rates of delinquency—Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and the Carolinas—all bear poverty levels above the national average.
Median household income is also among the lowest nationally in these states, and average FICO® Scores are on the lower end of the spectrum. Meanwhile, income and average FICO® Scores are higher in Northern and Midwestern regions of the country, where delinquency rates are comparatively lower.
According to Kelley Blue Book, average new car prices rose $6,220 in 2021, with the average price of a vehicle reaching $47,077 as of December of last year. As the cost of car ownership is pushed higher and higher, Experian has identified a trend of rising amounts of auto loan debt.
| Rank | State, Avg. FICO® Score | % of Auto Accounts Ever Late by Days Past Due (DPD) | Average Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Utah, 727 (13 points more than national average) | 4.5% (30+ DPD) 2.5% (60+ DPD) 1.8% (90+ DPD) | $501 (lease) $513 (loan) |
| 50 | North Dakota, 733 (19 points more than national average) | 4.6% (30+ DPD) 2.4% (60+ DPD) 1.6% (90+ DPD) | $518 (lease) $582 (loan) |
| 49 | South Dakota, 733 (19 points more than national average) | 4.8% (30+ DPD) 2.5% (60+ DPD) 1.8% (90+ DPD) | $475 (lease) $538 (loan) |
| 48 | Idaho, 725 (11 points more than national average) | 5.0% (30+ DPD) 2.6% (60+ DPD) 1.9% (90+ DPD) | $475 (lease) $535 (loan) |
| 47 | Wyoming, 722 (8 points more than national average) | 5.0% (30+ DPD) 2.6% (60+ DPD) 1.8% (90+ DPD) | $505 (lease) $636 (loan) |
| 46 | Vermont, 736 (22 points more than national average) | 5.1% (30+ DPD) 2.3% (60+ DPD) 1.5% (90+ DPD) | $449 (lease) $511 (loan) |
| 45 | Maine, 727 (13 points more than national average) | 5.1% (30+ DPD) 2.3% (60+ DPD) 1.6% (90+ DPD) | $437 (lease) $503 (loan) |
| 44 | Iowa, 729 (15 points more than national average) | 5.2% (30+ DPD) 2.7% (60+ DPD) 1.9% (90+ DPD) | $489 (lease) $532 (loan) |
| 43 | Minnesota, 742 (28 points more than national average) | 5.2% (30+ DPD) 2.6% (60+ DPD) 1.8% (90+ DPD) | $480 (lease) $515 (loan) |
| 42 | New Hampshire, 734 (20 points more than national average) | 5.4% (30+ DPD) 2.5% (60+ DPD) 1.6% (90+ DPD) | $439 (lease) $500 (loan) |
| 41 | Nebraska, 731 (17 points more than national average) | 5.4% (30+ DPD) 2.8% (60+ DPD) 1.9% (90+ DPD) | $469 (lease) $532 (loan) |
| 40 | Wisconsin, 735 (21 points more than national average) | 5.6% (30+ DPD) 2.9% (60+ DPD) 2.0% (90+ DPD) | $467 (lease) $498 (loan) |
| 39 | Montana, 730 (16 points more than national average) | 5.6% (30+ DPD) 2.9% (60+ DPD) 2.0% (90+ DPD) | $476 (lease) $547 (loan) |
| 38 | Oregon, 731 (17 points more than national average) | 5.7% (30+ DPD) 2.9% (60+ DPD) 2.0% (90+ DPD) | $451 (lease) $499 (loan) |
| 37 | Washington, 734 (20 points more than national average) | 5.9% (30+ DPD) 3.0% (60+ DPD) 2.1% (90+ DPD) | $516 (lease) $550 (loan) |
| 36 | Kansas, 721 (7 points more than national average) | 6.3% (30+ DPD) 3.3% (60+ DPD) 2.3% (90+ DPD) | $515 (lease) $551 (loan) |
| 35 | Alaska, 717 (3 points more than national average) | 6.5% (30+ DPD) 3.0% (60+ DPD) 2.0% (90+ DPD) | $492 (lease) $583 (loan) |
| 34 | Colorado, 728 (14 points more than national average) | 7.0% (30+ DPD) 3.6% (60+ DPD) 2.6% (90+ DPD) | $520 (lease) $556 (loan) |
| 33 | Pennsylvania, 724 (10 points more than national average) | 7.4% (30+ DPD) 3.7% (60+ DPD) 2.6% (90+ DPD) | $471 (lease) $505 (loan) |
| 32 | Michigan, 719 (5 points more than national average) | 7.6% (30+ DPD) 4.2% (60+ DPD) 3.2% (90+ DPD) | $447 (lease) $480 (loan) |
| 31 | Indiana, 712 (2 points less than national average) | 7.6% (30+ DPD) 4.3% (60+ DPD) 3.2% (90+ DPD) | $484 (lease) $519 (loan) |
| 30 | Ohio, 715 (1 points more than national average) | 8.1% (30+ DPD) 4.5% (60+ DPD) 3.3% (90+ DPD) | $453 (lease) $500 (loan) |
| 29 | Missouri, 711 (3 points less than national average) | 8.1% (30+ DPD) 4.4% (60+ DPD) 3.2% (90+ DPD) | $526 (lease) $532 (loan) |
| 28 | Virginia, 721 (7 points more than national average) | 8.2% (30+ DPD) 4.3% (60+ DPD) 3.0% (90+ DPD) | $541 (lease) $547 (loan) |
| 27 | West Virginia, 699 (15 points less than national average) | 8.3% (30+ DPD) 4.4% (60+ DPD) 3.1% (90+ DPD) | $477 (lease) $575 (loan) |
| 26 | Arizona, 710 (4 points less than national average) | 8.6% (30+ DPD) 4.9% (60+ DPD) 3.7% (90+ DPD) | $512 (lease) $576 (loan) |
| 25 | California, 721 (7 points more than national average) | 8.7% (30+ DPD) 4.6% (60+ DPD) 3.3% (90+ DPD) | $567 (lease) $572 (loan) |
| 24 | Tennessee, 701 (13 points less than national average) | 8.7% (30+ DPD) 4.8% (60+ DPD) 3.5% (90+ DPD) | $527 (lease) $560 (loan) |
| 23 | Oklahoma, 692 (22 points less than national average) | 8.7% (30+ DPD) 4.9% (60+ DPD) 3.7% (90+ DPD) | $524 (lease) $597 (loan) |
| 22 | Massachusetts, 732 (18 points more than national average) | 8.8% (30+ DPD) 4.0% (60+ DPD) 2.5% (90+ DPD) | $458 (lease) $482 (loan) |
| 21 | Illinois, 719 (5 points more than national average) | 8.9% (30+ DPD) 4.8% (60+ DPD) 3.4% (90+ DPD) | $534 (lease) $541 (loan) |
| 20 | Rhode Island, 723 (9 points more than national average) | 9.0% (30+ DPD) 4.5% (60+ DPD) 3.0% (90+ DPD) | $462 (lease) $461 (loan) |
| 19 | Florida, 707 (7 points less than national average) | 9.0% (30+ DPD) 5.0% (60+ DPD) 3.6% (90+ DPD) | $549 (lease) $553 (loan) |
| 18 | Kentucky, 702 (12 points less than national average) | 9.1% (30+ DPD) 5.2% (60+ DPD) 3.8% (90+ DPD) | $490 (lease) $527 (loan) |
| 17 | Connecticut, 726 (12 points more than national average) | 9.1% (30+ DPD) 4.4% (60+ DPD) 2.9% (90+ DPD) | $514 (lease) $495 (loan) |
| 16 | Delaware, 714 (Equal to the national average) | 9.2% (30+ DPD) 5.0% (60+ DPD) 3.6% (90+ DPD) | $474 (lease) $533 (loan) |
| 15 | New Jersey, 725 (11 points more than national average) | 9.2% (30+ DPD) 4.5% (60+ DPD) 3.1% (90+ DPD) | $519 (lease) $518 (loan) |
| 14 | Arkansas, 694 (20 points less than national average) | 9.4% (30+ DPD) 5.6% (60+ DPD) 4.2% (90+ DPD) | $383 (lease) $607 (loan) |
| 13 | Nevada, 701 (13 points less than national average) | 9.5% (30+ DPD) 5.4% (60+ DPD) 3.9% (90+ DPD) | $565 (lease) $582 (loan) |
| 12 | New Mexico, 699 (15 points less than national average) | 9.5% (30+ DPD) 5.3% (60+ DPD) 3.8% (90+ DPD) | $465 (lease) $616 (loan) |
| 11 | Texas, 692 (22 points less than national average) | 10.1% (30+ DPD) 5.5% (60+ DPD) 4.0% (90+ DPD) | $578 (lease) $662 (loan) |
| 10 | New York, 722 (8 points more than national average) | 10.1% (30+ DPD) 5.0% (60+ DPD) 3.5% (90+ DPD) | $507 (lease) $517 (loan) |
| 9 | Hawaii, 732 (18 points more than national average) | 10.3% (30+ DPD) 5.2% (60+ DPD) 3.5% (90+ DPD) | $520 (lease) $565 (loan) |
| 8 | North Carolina, 707 (7 points less than national average) | 10.3% (30+ DPD) 5.8% (60+ DPD) 4.1% (90+ DPD) | $493 (lease) $541 (loan) |
| 7 | South Carolina, 693 (21 points less than national average) | 10.5% (30+ DPD) 5.9% (60+ DPD) 4.2% (90+ DPD) | $497 (lease) $543 (loan) |
| 6 | Maryland, 716 (2 points more than national average) | 10.6% (30+ DPD) 5.7% (60+ DPD) 4.1% (90+ DPD) | $556 (lease) $560 (loan) |
| 5 | Alabama, 691 (23 points less than national average) | 11.4% (30+ DPD) 6.7% (60+ DPD) 5.0% (90+ DPD) | $513 (lease) $575 (loan) |
| 4 | Georgia, 693 (21 points less than national average) | 12.1% (30+ DPD) 6.8% (60+ DPD) 4.9% (90+ DPD) | $533 (lease) $590 (loan) |
| 3 | Louisiana, 689 (25 points less than national average) | 12.8% (30+ DPD) 7.3% (60+ DPD) 5.1% (90+ DPD) | $566 (lease) $627 (loan) |
| 2 | Mississippi, 681 (33 points less than national average) | 15.1% (30+ DPD) 8.7% (60+ DPD) 6.2% (90+ DPD) | $463 (lease) $600 (loan) |
| 1 | Washington, D.C., 717 (3 points more than national average) | 23.4% (30+ DPD) 14.7% (60+ DPD) 11.3% (90+ DPD) | $563 (lease) $518 (loan) |
Find More Auto Loan Debt Data in the Below Articles
- Idaho, the Carolinas Lead the Country With Biggest Increase in Car Loans
To find out where Americans bought the most vehicles over the last five years, Experian looked at the number of auto loans nationwide. - Average Auto Loan Debt Grew 5.2% to $23,792 in 2023
Average outstanding auto loan debt balances increased by 5.2% to $23,792 from Q3 2022 to Q3 2023—still more than overall inflation of 3%. - Baby Boomers’ Auto Debt Ranks High Among Generations
Baby boomers carry the second-highest auto loan debt of any generation. - Millennial Auto Debt Is Growing Faster Than Other Generations’
Millennials’ auto loan debt is rising quicker than any other generation’s—but it remains below the national average. - Top 10 States With the Highest Average Auto Loan Debt
In the past year, Wyoming took the lead as the state where consumers carried the highest average auto loan debt in the U.S.