How North Dakota Ranks In National Credit Management Efforts

North Dakota ranks among the top states in the nation for managing and monitoring their credit, according to a 2026 report from WalletHub.

Source: WalletHub

North Dakota placed ninth overall with a score of 70.25, putting it firmly in the top 10 nationwide. The study evaluated all 50 states using six key metrics, including missed payments, collections accounts, bankruptcies, foreclosures and how often consumers monitor or dispute their credit reports.

Regionally, North Dakota outperformed several neighboring states. Montana ranked just behind at No. 11, while Minnesota came in at No. 23. South Dakota ranked 30th, placing it in the lower half nationally. Other nearby states such as Wyoming (25th) and Nebraska (22nd) landed closer to the middle of the rankings.

Nationally, the most diligent states were Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, which took the top three spots. At the other end of the list, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas ranked lowest.

The report highlights that North Dakota performs particularly well in avoiding negative credit behaviors, though it ranks lower in some monitoring-related metrics. For example, the state placed among the lowest for the percentage of residents filing credit disputes in the past six months and had one of the lower rates of frozen credit reports.

“Being diligent about your credit goes far beyond just making timely payments and only borrowing what you can afford to pay back, although those elements are important,” said Chip Lupo. “True diligence also includes monitoring your credit reports regularly to make sure there are no inaccuracies and swiftly reporting anything that’s out of place. Mistakes on your credit report can unfairly hurt your credit score.”

WalletHub’s analysis shows a wide gap between top- and bottom-performing states. For example, residents in top-ranked Vermont are far less likely to have collections accounts or active bankruptcies than those in Louisiana, which ranked last.

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States Where People Are Most Diligent With Credit

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score
1	Vermont	82.99
2	Hawaii	82.89
3	Alaska	81.46
4	Massachusetts	76.94
5	Iowa	76.64
6	Washington	74.52
7	New York	74.04
8	Oregon	70.44
9	North Dakota	70.25
10	Colorado	69.79
11	Montana	69.72
12	New Hampshire	69.49
13	California	69.47
14	Utah	69.17
15	Florida	69.14
16	Rhode Island	67.27
17	Idaho	67.00
18	New Jersey	65.68
19	Maine	64.43
20	Illinois	63.15
21	Connecticut	63.03
22	Nebraska	62.19
23	Minnesota	61.71
24	Wisconsin	61.02
25	Wyoming	60.46
26	Maryland	59.18
27	Ohio	57.21
28	New Mexico	54.93
29	Kansas	54.87
30	South Dakota	54.85
31	Arizona	54.28
32	Pennsylvania	54.27
33	Virginia	53.55
34	Missouri	45.78
35	North Carolina	45.21
36	Nevada	45.09
37	Michigan	44.12
38	Oklahoma	42.08
39	Delaware	42.06
40	South Carolina	41.57
41	Texas	40.04
42	Indiana	38.98
43	Georgia	38.97
44	Tennessee	37.99
45	West Virginia	37.94
46	Kentucky	35.34
47	Alabama	31.10
48	Arkansas	26.28
49	Mississippi	25.76
50	Louisiana	23.67