A new study has confirmed what many North Texans are already feeling: Dallas has one of the highest shares of people in financial distress in the nation.
Dallas ranked No. 4 in WalletHub's just-released report, "Cities with the Most People in Financial Distress," which analyzed 100 of the largest U.S. cities across nine personal finance metrics: average credit scores and year-over-year changes; the share of residents with accounts in distress and year-over-year changes; the average number of accounts in distress; year-over-year change in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025; and "debt" and "loans" search interest indexes.
For the purpose of this study, WalletHub defined "financial distress" as having a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments.
The top three cities with the most people in financial distress are Chicago (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), and Las Vegas, Nevada (No. 3).
The analysis found Plano and Dallas had the second- and third-highest increases in bankruptcy filings from September 2024 to September 2025. And in a separate ranking of the U.S. cities with the highest credit scores as of Q3 2025, Dallas ranked 38th nationally.
Here's how WalletHub broke down Dallas' overall ranking:
- No. 1 – "Loans" search interest index rank
- No. 5 – "Debt" search interest index rank
- No. 32 – Credit score rank
- No. 35 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
- No. 39 – People with accounts in distress rank
High unemployment rates and inflation are major factors contributing to most Americans' financial woes, the report said, and
rising property taxes can create an even bigger burden for homeowners and renters alike. Texas residents may feel a greater burden than residents elsewhere in the country after the Lone Star State was dubbed the No. 1 most most
financially distressed state in America in 2025. And digging oneself out of the "downward spiral" isn't easy, 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," Lupo said.
Other North Texas cities where financial struggles are prevalent include Fort Worth (No. 12), Arlington (No. 36), Garland (No. 59), Plano (No. 61), and Irving (No. 64).
But no Texas city is feeling the financial squeeze as much as Houston, which ranked as the second-most financially distressed city nationwide for 2026.
"Houston has a high share of the population with accounts in distress compared to most other cities, at over 8 percent, and it also has a high number of accounts in distress per person," the report said. "Similar to Chicago, Houston also shows some of the highest Google search interest in the country for terms like “debt” and “loans,” indicating a strong need for borrowing."
San Antonio (No. 6) and Austin (No. 9) also ranked among WalletHub's top 10 most financially distressed U.S. cities for 2026.
The top 10 most financially distressed cities in the nation are:
- No. 1 – Chicago
- No. 2 – Houston
- No. 3 – Las Vegas
- No. 4 – Dallas
- No. 5 – Los Angeles
- No. 6 – San Antonio
- No. 7 – Atlanta
- No. 8 – New York
- No. 9 – Austin
- No. 10 – Phoenix
