The Cities With the Most Late Payments

By Matt Tatham

2 min readFeb 7, 2018

Late payments can happen. If you miss a payment by a few days but then catch up, it shouldn't appear on your credit report. For a late payment to appear on a credit report, you must miss a full billing cycle (which means your payment is a full 30 days late).

Corpus Christi, TX averaged at least one late payment per billing cycle in 2017. The rest of the cities in the top five were also in Texas.Odessa - Midland ranked second, followed by Beaumont-Port Arthur, Abilene-Sweetwater, and Sherman-Ada. Texas made up the top six spots with the highest average of late payments and seven spots overall in the top ten.

The Cities with the Largest Late Payment Averages Increases

Macon, GA saw their average late payments worsen by 205% in 2017 versus 2016. Zanesville, OH and Shreveport, LA, both saw their average for late payments grow by 173%. Monroe-El Dorado, TX and Savannah, GA saw their late payment average grow worse by 130%.

How do Late Payment Affect Your Credit Scores

Payment history makes up approximately 35% of your credit scores, so a 30-day late payment will hurt your credit scores. The more recent the late payment, the more it will impact your scores. Paying your bills on time is the best advice when it comes to improving your credit score.

Methodology: The analysis results provided are based on an Experian-created statistically relevant aggregate sampling of our consumer credit database that may include use of the FICO^® Score 8 version. Different sampling parameters may generate different findings compared with other similar analysis. Analyzed credit data did not contain personal identification information. Metro areas group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for population censuses and compilations of related statistical data.

FICO^® is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.