RateZip Data · Credit Geography
The worst-credit cities in America, ranked by mortgage shoppers
In Youngstown, OH, 67.7% of people shopping for a mortgage report fair or poor credit — in New Canaan, CT, it's 1.1%. That 62× spread is the widest lens we know of on America's credit geography, measured not from bureau averages of everyone, but from the people actively trying to borrow.
The 25 worst-credit cities
| # | City | Subprime share (fair + poor) | Poor only | Excellent / very good |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Youngstown, OH | 67.7% | 34.1% | 6.4% |
| 2 | Canton, OH | 64.8% | 27.3% | 13.4% |
| 3 | Decatur, IL | 63.8% | 25.7% | 13.6% |
| 4 | Sumter, SC | 63.6% | 22.1% | 15.6% |
| 5 | Toledo, OH | 63.6% | 27.8% | 8.8% |
| 6 | Evansville, IN | 61.8% | 26.7% | 9.9% |
| 7 | South Bend, IN | 59.1% | 29.4% | 11.5% |
| 8 | Fort Wayne, IN | 58.8% | 25.9% | 11.6% |
| 9 | Gastonia, NC | 58.8% | 25.5% | 18% |
| 10 | Dayton, OH | 58.7% | 25.3% | 14.8% |
| 11 | Cleveland, OH | 56.6% | 25.6% | 15.1% |
| 12 | Anderson, SC | 56.1% | 26.1% | 20% |
| 13 | Florence, SC | 55.8% | 20.5% | 13.6% |
| 14 | Akron, OH | 55.7% | 26.5% | 13.6% |
| 15 | Spartanburg, SC | 53.8% | 27.9% | 16% |
| 16 | Milwaukee, WI | 52.9% | 21.6% | 17.9% |
| 17 | Montgomery, AL | 52.8% | 20.8% | 17.6% |
| 18 | Mobile, AL | 52.4% | 23.1% | 18.6% |
| 19 | Fayetteville, NC | 52.3% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
| 20 | Battle Creek, MI | 51.8% | 24.4% | 22.7% |
| 21 | Greenville, NC | 51.5% | 22.4% | 17% |
| 22 | Jackson, MI | 51.2% | 18.9% | 23% |
| 23 | Roanoke, VA | 51.1% | 19.3% | 21% |
| 24 | Kingsport, TN | 50.9% | 22.9% | 21.9% |
| 25 | Indianapolis, IN | 50.8% | 20.9% | 16.5% |
And the best-credit cities, for contrast
| # | City | Subprime share | Excellent / very good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Canaan, CT | 1.1% | 91.9% |
| 2 | San Ramon, CA | 2.2% | 85.6% |
| 3 | Redmond, WA | 2.8% | 89.8% |
| 4 | Beverly Hills, CA | 3.5% | 82.8% |
| 5 | Fremont, CA | 4% | 81.5% |
| 6 | Bellevue, WA | 4.9% | 84.4% |
| 7 | Bothell, WA | 5.9% | 83.4% |
| 8 | Irvine, CA | 6% | 80.5% |
| 9 | Sunnyvale, CA | 6.1% | 77.5% |
| 10 | Glendale, CA | 6.3% | 76.7% |
Questions this data answers
Which US city has the worst credit?
Among people actively shopping for a mortgage, Youngstown, OH ranks worst: 67.7% of its mortgage inquirers self-report fair or poor credit, and only 6.4% report excellent or very good credit. Legacy-industrial Midwest metros dominate the list.
How is this different from average-credit-score rankings?
Bureau-based studies average the credit score of everyone in a city, including people with no borrowing intent. This ranking measures the credit profile of active mortgage shoppers — the demand that lenders actually see. A city can have a middling average score but a heavily subprime shopper pool, and that difference is what shapes local mortgage markets.
Where does the data come from?
Self-reported credit tiers from consumer mortgage inquiries submitted to RateZip since January 2019, aggregated by city. Cities with fewer than 400 inquiries are excluded (425 cities qualify); only percentages are published. Self-reported tiers skew slightly optimistic versus actual scores, which makes the subprime shares here conservative floors.
Self-reported credit tier among RateZip mortgage inquirers, January 2019 to present; cities under 400 inquiries excluded; shares only.Data updates nightly. Shares describe RateZip's inquiry flow, not the general population. Cite as: "RateZip Worst Credit Cities" with a link to this page.