Where the job market is strong and the bills go unpaid
A low unemployment rate is supposed to mean households are doing fine. In 9 states it doesn't. Unemployment sits below the national median, while the delinquency score — how far behind households are on credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages — sits above it. Alabama shows the widest split: unemployment near 3.0%, and a delinquency score of 88.6 against a labor score of 11.8.
| State | Unemployment | Labor score | Delinquency score | Gap | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3.0% | 11.8 | 88.6 | +76.8 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Georgia | 3.4% | 26.5 | 91.2 | +64.7 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Mississippi | 3.8% | 42.2 | 97.7 | +55.6 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Indiana | 3.3% | 18.6 | 63.1 | +44.4 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| North Carolina | 3.7% | 31.4 | 72.2 | +40.8 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Tennessee | 3.6% | 28.4 | 67.0 | +38.6 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Louisiana | 4.4% | 62.8 | 95.8 | +33.0 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Oklahoma | 4.1% | 48.0 | 79.4 | +31.4 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Texas | 4.3% | 57.8 | 88.6 | +30.7 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Arkansas | 4.2% | 52.0 | 80.1 | +28.1 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| South Dakota | 2.1% | 1.0 | 23.9 | +22.9 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Hawaii | 2.5% | 4.9 | 26.5 | +21.6 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Ohio | 3.7% | 36.3 | 57.8 | +21.6 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| West Virginia | 4.3% | 54.9 | 74.8 | +19.9 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Missouri | 3.8% | 39.2 | 54.6 | +15.4 | Strong jobs · high bills |
| Iowa | 3.2% | 16.7 | 31.7 | +15.0 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| South Carolina | 4.6% | 73.5 | 86.0 | +12.4 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Nebraska | 3.0% | 8.8 | 19.3 | +10.5 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Vermont | 2.6% | 6.9 | 15.7 | +8.8 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Maryland | 4.4% | 59.8 | 68.3 | +8.5 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Pennsylvania | 4.2% | 50.0 | 58.5 | +8.5 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Maine | 3.1% | 14.7 | 22.6 | +7.8 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| North Dakota | 2.4% | 2.9 | 10.1 | +7.2 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Virginia | 3.8% | 39.2 | 44.1 | +4.9 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Wyoming | 3.4% | 20.6 | 24.5 | +3.9 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Florida | 4.8% | 77.5 | 77.5 | 0.0 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Kentucky | 4.5% | 65.7 | 65.0 | -0.7 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Kansas | 3.8% | 44.1 | 42.2 | -2.0 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| New Hampshire | 3.0% | 11.8 | 7.5 | -4.2 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| District of Columbia | 6.1% | 99.0 | 93.8 | -5.2 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Nevada | 5.2% | 93.1 | 86.6 | -6.5 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Montana | 3.4% | 23.5 | 16.7 | -6.9 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| New Mexico | 4.9% | 81.4 | 74.2 | -7.2 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| New York | 4.6% | 71.6 | 62.4 | -9.1 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Rhode Island | 4.3% | 54.9 | 43.5 | -11.4 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Idaho | 3.7% | 31.4 | 19.3 | -12.1 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Colorado | 3.9% | 46.1 | 33.0 | -13.1 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Wisconsin | 3.4% | 23.5 | 8.2 | -15.4 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Delaware | 5.1% | 88.2 | 70.3 | -18.0 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Arizona | 4.8% | 79.4 | 59.8 | -19.6 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| New Jersey | 4.7% | 75.5 | 48.7 | -26.8 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Illinois | 5.1% | 85.3 | 55.2 | -30.1 | Softer jobs · high bills |
| Michigan | 5.0% | 83.3 | 52.6 | -30.7 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Utah | 3.7% | 34.3 | 3.6 | -30.7 | Strong jobs · bills in check |
| Connecticut | 5.1% | 88.2 | 48.7 | -39.6 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Alaska | 4.5% | 67.7 | 21.2 | -46.4 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Massachusetts | 4.5% | 69.6 | 21.2 | -48.4 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| California | 5.3% | 97.1 | 44.8 | -52.3 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Minnesota | 4.4% | 62.8 | 8.2 | -54.6 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Oregon | 5.2% | 93.1 | 27.5 | -65.7 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
| Washington | 5.2% | 93.1 | 16.7 | -76.5 | Softer jobs · bills in check |
How to read this
Both scores come from the State Distress Index. The labor score is built from each state's three-month unemployment rate; the delinquency score combines credit-card, auto-loan, and mortgage balances 90 or more days past due. Each runs 0 to 100, where higher means more distress. The gap is the delinquency score minus the labor score. A large positive gap is a state where the job market looks healthy and households are behind on their payments anyway.
The quadrant compares each state to the median of all 51 jurisdictions on each axis. The median unemployment rate across those 51 jurisdictions is about 4.2%. Strong jobs means a labor score below the median; high bills means a delinquency score above the median. South Dakota and North Dakota have rock-bottom unemployment but below-median delinquency, so they sit in the strong jobs, bills-in-check quadrant, not the paradox.
These scores are composites, not percentile ranks of states. Each input is converted to a distress-oriented percentile, then averaged within its domain. A high delinquency score is a statement about that domain's composite, not a claim that the state ranks at that percentile.
More distress rankings
Three more views of household distress. See the national top 100 most distressed counties, the most distressed county in every state, and bankruptcy filing rates by county.