These CA Cities Have The Most People In Financial Distress

Southern California is home to several cities that rank among those with the most people in financial distress nationwide, according to a recent analysis by WalletHub.

The personal finance website, which defines financial distress as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments, looked at the country’s 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine metrics, including average credit score, change in bankruptcy filings year-over-year, and share of people with accounts in distress.

Los Angeles ranked fifth on the list, and was followed by other Southern California cities, including San Diego at No. 22, San Bernardino at No. 39 and Long Beach at No. 48, according to WalletHub.

Some central and northern California cities ranked high for financial distress as well, with Bakersfield at No. 24, Sacramento at No. 30, Stockton at No. 43 and Fresno at No. 45.

Stockton, Irvine, Long Beach and Bakersfield were ranked second through fifth, respectively, for the greatest change in share of people with accounts in distress in the third quarter of 2025 vs. the third quarter of 2024, according to WalletHub’s analysis.

Nationwide, the cities with the most people in financial distress were Chicago at No. 1, Houston at No. 2 and Las Vegas at No. 3, according to the ranking.

“Getting out of the downward spiral of financial distress is no easy feat,” according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

“You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off. People who find themselves in financial distress should budget carefully, cut non-essential expenses, and pursue strategies like debt consolidation or debt management to get their situation under control."

It's not all bad for the Golden State, though. The following cities were ranked on the lower end for financial distress: Riverside, Oakland, Irvine, Anaheim, San Francisco, Fremont, Santa Ana and Chula Vista. San Jose was dead center on the ranking at No. 50.

Read more from WalletHub.