Everything’s bigger in Texas — including the financial distress experienced by Texans. 

WalletHub recently conducted a study to determine which states had the most residents suffering from financial distress. Michigan took the top spot, but Texas came in No. 2. 

“Measuring the share of residents in financial distress is a good way to take the pulse of a state and see whether people are generally thriving or having trouble making ends meet,” said Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst. “When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state.” 

Texas’ ranking shouldn’t come as news to anyone, however. 

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In November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Texas was among the states feeling the most stressed by inflation. According to the Fed, consumer prices have been rising at a faster rate in Texas and surrounding states than nationally, noting that food and shelter have been increasing even more. According to the report, 52% of Texans are “highly stressed about inflation” compared with only 47% of Americans. Not surprisingly, “low- and moderate-income and minority households feel most stressed.”

Fox Business reports on the WalletHub study. Here’s the start of the story:

A personal finance company recently published a survey on the U.S. states with the most money-worried residents – and the results may surprise you.

WalletHub published its study, titled “States with the Most People in Financial Distress,” on July 17. The company said that it used nine key metrics, including credit score changes and Internet searches for “debt” and “loans,” to determine the results.

“Our data set includes factors like the average credit score, the change in the number of bankruptcy filings between March 2023 and March 2024, and the share of people with accounts in distress,” WalletHub explained.

There were no clear-cut trends concerning different U.S. regions, but the most money-worried states tended to be in the Southeast, while the least financially-distressed were in New England and the Midwest.