According to a Feb. 12 study by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), financial stress indicators are at the highest level since the nonprofit group began to keep records in 2018. The top stress indicators which the NFCC follows are the number of people falling behind in payments, and also the debt-to-income levels of people in crisis. These stress indicators were at a record high for the last three consecutive quarters of 2025, and are surging higher still in the first quarter of 2026.
The study reveals that higher income Americans are falling behind in payments. Before the pandemic the average income of clients seeking help from credit-counseling agencies across the country was about $40,000 per year and carried $10,000 in unsecured debt—roughly 25% of their annual income. However, now the average income of clients is $70,000 per year with nearly $35,000 of unsecured debt, or about half of their annual income.
