(Image: Images Money / Flickr Creative Commons)
Jul 29, 2014
At least 35 percent of U.S. adults have a debt in collections, according to a study (pdf) released Tuesday by the Urban Institute in conjunction with Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute.
This amounts to 77 million people with credit histories, according to a random sampling of 7 million credit files from 2013.
The study measured collections for non-mortgage bills that are allegedly past due, which can include medical costs, electricity and water payments, and even parking tickets. Those taken to collections owed an average of $5,200, the study finds.
Caroline Ratcliffe, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, said in a press statement that collections debt "is pervasive and threads through nearly all communities." She added, "Delinquent debt can harm credit scores, which can tip employers' hiring decisions, restrict access to mortgages, and even increase insurance costs."
Nevada topped the charts, with 47 percent of its population taken to collections. Collections debts were heavily concentrated in the South, as well as Washington, DC.
The findings do not represent the approximately 22 million adults with no formal credit histories, who are disproportionately low-income.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
At least 35 percent of U.S. adults have a debt in collections, according to a study (pdf) released Tuesday by the Urban Institute in conjunction with Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute.
This amounts to 77 million people with credit histories, according to a random sampling of 7 million credit files from 2013.
The study measured collections for non-mortgage bills that are allegedly past due, which can include medical costs, electricity and water payments, and even parking tickets. Those taken to collections owed an average of $5,200, the study finds.
Caroline Ratcliffe, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, said in a press statement that collections debt "is pervasive and threads through nearly all communities." She added, "Delinquent debt can harm credit scores, which can tip employers' hiring decisions, restrict access to mortgages, and even increase insurance costs."
Nevada topped the charts, with 47 percent of its population taken to collections. Collections debts were heavily concentrated in the South, as well as Washington, DC.
The findings do not represent the approximately 22 million adults with no formal credit histories, who are disproportionately low-income.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
At least 35 percent of U.S. adults have a debt in collections, according to a study (pdf) released Tuesday by the Urban Institute in conjunction with Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute.
This amounts to 77 million people with credit histories, according to a random sampling of 7 million credit files from 2013.
The study measured collections for non-mortgage bills that are allegedly past due, which can include medical costs, electricity and water payments, and even parking tickets. Those taken to collections owed an average of $5,200, the study finds.
Caroline Ratcliffe, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, said in a press statement that collections debt "is pervasive and threads through nearly all communities." She added, "Delinquent debt can harm credit scores, which can tip employers' hiring decisions, restrict access to mortgages, and even increase insurance costs."
Nevada topped the charts, with 47 percent of its population taken to collections. Collections debts were heavily concentrated in the South, as well as Washington, DC.
The findings do not represent the approximately 22 million adults with no formal credit histories, who are disproportionately low-income.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.