Credit counselors reported a significant surge in demand for financial counseling services so far this year, warning that the trend signals an increase in financial distress among U.S. consumers.
Credit counseling nonprofit Money Management International (MMI) recently released data from its mid-year analysis, which found a 52% rise in new clients in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year – with new clients carrying average unsecured debt of $28,000, an increase of 9% from 2023.
Kate Bulger, vice president of business development for MMI, told FOX Business the organization is seeing both an increase in the number of consumers who need help and in the amount of debt that they are carrying.
"These are folks who were doing fine just a few years ago, but when inflation started to rise, they used their credit cards to bridge the difference between their income and their expenses," Bulger said. "As their credit card balances grew, the minimum payment put increasing pressure on their budget. The situation quickly becomes unsustainable."
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Here are the states with the highest increase in demand for credit counseling so far this year, according to MMI:
The state of Washington topped the list with a 60% increase in counseling growth. The unsecured debt of new MMI clients from The Evergreen State also jumped by 13% in the first half of the year to an average of $28,459.
Arizona ranked second on the list with an increase in credit counseling inquiries of 58%. Counseling clients from The Grand Canyon State also posted higher unsecured debt than that same period last year, rising 11% to $27,431.
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Minnesota came in third for the highest increase in credit counseling demand at 56%, but topped every other state for its surge in unsecured debt, which climbed a staggering 25% to an average of more than $30,212 per client.
Demand for credit counseling in New York jumped 55% in the first six months of 2024, placing the state fourth on the list. While the average unsecured debt carried by financial counseling clients in The Empire State increased at less than half the rate of Minnesotans at 10%, New Yorkers still carried a higher dollar amount on average, at $30,414.
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Michigan rounded out the top five with 54% growth in credit counseling so far this year, while unsecured debt climbed 12% to an average of $27,676.