---
title: "State Distress Index (SDI)"
slug: state-adi
summary: "State-level financial distress ranks for all 50 states plus DC across family-v1 distress domains."
type: composite_index
frequency: semiannual
release: "State Distress Index, November 2026 release"
released_on: "2026-11-04"
version: "composition-3.data-basis-2026-11-03"
jurisdictions: 51
last_updated: "2026-11-03"
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/states/
---

# State Distress Index (SDI)

> The SDI scores all 50 states and the District of Columbia on a 0–100 framework using family-v1 distress domains. A state's score is the share of the 50 states and D.C. it is more distressed than. State pages publish rank and score-label wording, never the national American Distress Index band labels.

## Domains

| Domain | What It Measures |
|--------|------------------|
| Delinquency | Mortgage, card, auto, and collections distress |
| Default & Legal | Bankruptcy and legal-default pressure |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) | Severe renter cost burden: among renter households whose rent-to-income ratio the U.S. Census Bureau computes, the share paying 50%+ of income on rent (excludes households with no cash rent or an uncomputed ratio) |
| Labor | Unemployment and claims pressure |

One family domain is absent from the State Distress Index. **Safety Net & Buffer** — no committed state-level series measures safety-net need directly. The one available measured SNAP enrollment, which is how much help arrives rather than how much need exists, so scoring it would have published benefit policy as a change in household conditions. The national ADI and the county CDI still carry it.

## Leading Ranks

| Rank | Jurisdiction | Score | Distress label |
|------|-------|-------|-------|
| 1 | LA | 100 | extreme state distress |
| 2 | NV | 98 | extreme state distress |
| 3 | FL | 96 | extreme state distress |
| 4 | MS | 94 | extreme state distress |
| 5 | MI | 92 | extreme state distress |

## Rankings

Per-state profiles at https://americandefault.org/states/{state-slug}/. Master ranking page: https://americandefault.org/states/.

## Methodology Summary

State indicators are converted to distress-oriented state percentile ranks, averaged within family-v1 domains, and combined into an equal-weight composite across the publishable domains. The published score is the share of the other jurisdictions with a lower composite, (n - rank) / (n - 1) x 100, rounded down to a whole number; the score label comes from it. Ranks sort the composite; states share a rank only on identical composites.

## Endpoints

- State hub: https://americandefault.org/states/
- Per-state profile: https://americandefault.org/states/{state-slug}/
- Rankings page: https://americandefault.org/states/