Cities in the Most Financial Distress During COVID-19 – WalletHub Study

With nearly 69% of people saying they would have difficulty meeting their financial obligations if their next paycheck were delayed for a week, WalletHub today released its report on the Cities in the Most Financial Distress During COVID-19.

In order to take a deeper look into where people are struggling the most financially, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine key metrics. Our data set includes factors like the change in the number of bankruptcy filings between June 2019 and June 2020, the average credit score and the share of people with accounts in distress. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-financial-distress/79863/

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a phone, Skype or in-studio interview with one of our analysts. Full data sets for specific cities are also available upon request. In addition, feel free to embed this YouTube video summarizing the study on your website, and to use or edit these raw files (audio and video) as you see fit.

Best,
Diana Polk
WalletHub Communications Manager
(202) 684-6386

WalletHub Q&A

How might a surge in consumer confidence affect the number of people in financial distress?

“The recent surge in consumer confidence should reduce the number of people in financial distress in the long run. If Americans feel that the economy is getting better and are more inclined to shop at businesses, we will see an increase in business revenue that eventually leads to more hiring,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “One of the biggest sources of financial distress right now is the high unemployment rate, so the sooner we can get businesses in a position to hire more, the sooner we can cut down the number of people in trouble.”

How does the closure of schools contribute to financial distress?

“Closing schools increases the number of people in financial distress because it removes the normal supervision of children during the day and places that burden on parents. Parents, especially those with younger children, may have to stay home from work or hire childcare as a result. Households where both parents work may see a sudden drop in income, but the hardest-hit households will be those with single parents,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “If it is feasible, businesses should let parents work from home when their children have to do online schooling. The government should also help schools reopen faster by adopting widespread rapid COVID-19 testing, which will prevent infection within schools while giving students the in-person learning they desperately need.”