New York Fed Details Regional Household Debt and Credit
October 14, 2015
Overall consumer distress rates in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are lower than those in the nation, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Regional Household Debt and Credit Snapshots. The 27 different Snapshots include data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans and delinquencies for New York City (including a separate view of each of its boroughs), as well as various metro areas in New York State, northern New Jersey and western Connecticut that make up the Federal Reserve’s Second District.

These Snapshots are based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data.  The Snapshots released today reflect data through June 2015.

Overall, the reports show the region having lower rates of consumer distress than the nation. In New Jersey, 16.2 percent of consumers have some debt that is seriously delinquent or in third party collections compared to 20 percent nationally. Overall consumer distress rates are slightly less in New York and Connecticut (14.8 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively). More than one in five consumers in the Bronx faces some kind of consumer distress, the highest of the five boroughs. At 19 percent, the Elmira and Watertown-Fort Drum metro areas have the next highest consumer distress rates.

Other findings from the Snapshots include:
  • New York has the fewest mortgage borrowers (21.5 percent) in the Second District. New Jersey comes in second at 26.5 percent, while 28.5 percent of Connecticut consumers have a mortgage.
  • About 20 percent of consumers in both the Rochester and Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara metro areas have student loan debt. Balances are lower on average than in New York.
  • Nearly 28 percent of consumers in New Jersey have an auto loan. Of those, about 5 percent are seriously delinquent on their payments.
  • Connecticut continues to have the highest average balances in the Second District and the lowest levels of delinquency.
  • While the most common credit product among New York City consumers are credit cards (60.8 percent), usage varies by borough. Manhattan has the highest share of consumers with a credit card and the highest balances. The Bronx has the lowest share of credit cards and the lowest balances.

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