Credit card delinquency rates jumped sharply between 2022 and 2024, with borrowers in lower-income neighborhoods experiencing the steepest climb, according to a report published November 10, 2026, by the New York Fed's Center for Microeconomic Data. The analysis traces the current wave of payment struggles back to pandemic-era lending, when an increasing share of new cards went to borrowers with lower incomes and credit scores. Those accounts are now showing the highest levels of financial distress.
During the pandemic, delinquency rates fell and converged across all income groups as forbearances, stimulus checks, and reduced spending improved payment behavior. But since 2022, the gap between borrowers in higher-income and lower-income neighborhoods has widened considerably, with recent delinquency rates now exceeding pre-pandemic levels for all groups. The share of new credit cards and credit limits extended to borrowers in the lowest income quartile each rose by nearly 2 percentage points at the start of the pandemic and remained elevated until 2023. The median credit score at card issuance dropped from an average of 699 during 2017–19 to 688 in the 2020–22 period, even as credit scores in the broader population were rising. Cards issued during the 2020–22 window showed a rapid rise and high peak in delinquencies throughout 2023 and into 2024, making up a sizable share of new delinquencies across all card vintages.
The report finds that the pandemic-era surge in delinquencies "partially represents a reversal of pandemic-era dynamics," as federal economic stimulus compressed delinquency rates during COVID-19, but most households have now exhausted their pandemic-era savings and most fiscal and monetary supports have ended. According to the authors, macroeconomic headwinds—namely high inflation and rising borrowing costs—have squeezed consumers, with inflation outpacing wage growth for low-income brackets. The report notes that strong consumer demand combined with low interest rates during the pandemic may have prompted some lenders to ease underwriting standards and extend credit to those previously not served.
The researchers explain that delinquency rates for cards issued during the pandemic are now declining. If current patterns continue, the elevated delinquencies of recent years may prove to be "more of a pandemic-era echo than a permanent feature of the credit card market," one that may keep fading as 2020–22 vintages make up a shrinking share of active cards. The credit quality of new card issuances through 2025, as measured by origination credit scores, sits below 2024 levels but above both pre-pandemic and pandemic-era benchmarks. Absent macroeconomic shocks, the report anticipates that new credit card delinquencies will likely continue to show signs of improvement in coming quarters.