While the economy has largely recovered from the unprecedented uncertainty and instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners are now facing new challenges. Inflation has become a significant concern, and home prices—already near all-time highs—continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for many households to afford their mortgage payments. Moreover, rising insurance costs are adding additional financial pressure, stretching household budgets thin and raising concerns about the sustainability of homeownership.

Financial assistance programs like loan forbearance, direct relief payments, and enhanced unemployment benefits worked to stave off loan delinquencies over the course of 2020 and 2021: the percentage of loans at least 30 days delinquent dropped to historically low levels across most major loan types.

Unfortunately, a combination of elevated interest rates and the end of most of these programs has led to increased frequencies of missed payments. As of Q2 2024, the national share of mortgages over 30 days delinquent has risen to 3.35%.

However, while mortgage delinquency rates are on the rise nationally, the concentration of delinquent mortgages varies significantly by location.

Ranking Methodology:

Researchers ranked locations based on the percentage of mortgages at least 30 days delinquent as of December 2023. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater percentage of mortgages at least 90 days delinquent was ranked higher.

Mortgage Delinquencies in Georgia:

• In Georgia, 3.2% of mortgages were at least 30 days delinquent—the 9th highest mortgage delinquency rate of any U.S. state.

• Meanwhile, 0.8% of Georgia mortgages were over 90 days delinquent.

The analysis was conducted by Construction Coverage, a website that provides construction insurance guides. The full results of the analysis include data on over 260 U.S. metros and all 50 states.