Debt in Collections · District of Columbia
District of Columbia — debt in collections by county
District of Columbia is a single federal district with no county subdivisions, so the 20.5% figure above is the jurisdiction-wide rate rather than a county-level average, based on the Urban Institute's Debt in America survey. That rate covers credit-active adults only — those with a credit-bureau file.
The median dollar amount in collections for District of Columbia residents is $2,000 per affected adult, based on Urban Institute's 2024 release.
National comparison · District of Columbia
How does District of Columbia compare nationally?
District of Columbia ranks #24 of 50 states. At 20.5%, that's 8% above the national median of 19.0%.
Among Southern states, District of Columbia has the lowest debt-in-collections rate; the next-lowest are Virginia (23.6%) and Maryland (20.7%).
State averages — debt subtypes
What kinds of debt drive the District of Columbia total
The Urban Institute reports debt in collections in four categories. District of Columbia is a single federal district with no county subdivisions, so these are jurisdiction-wide rates, not a county average:
- Any debt in collections: 20.5% of adults
- Medical debt in collections: 1.7% — debt sent to collections for medical bills
- Credit card delinquency: 5.9% — 90+ days past due on at least one card
- Auto/retail loan delinquency: 9.4% — 60+ days past due on auto or retail credit
These figures are the jurisdiction-wide rate — the underlying Urban Institute sample uses credit-bureau records, which exclude adults who do not have a credit file. Rates can be substantially higher for credit-active adults than for the full adult population.
Single jurisdiction
District of Columbia has no county subdivisions
District of Columbia is a single federal district with no counties to rank against each other -- the 20.5% figure above is the jurisdiction-wide rate, not a highest/lowest comparison.
Frequently asked — debt in District of Columbia
Common questions
What percentage of District of Columbia adults have debt in collections? +
20.5% of adults in District of Columbia have at least one account in collections, based on the Urban Institute's 2024 Debt in America survey. District of Columbia is a single federal district with no county subdivisions, so this is one jurisdiction-wide figure rather than a county-level range.
What is the median amount of debt in collections in District of Columbia? +
The median dollar amount in collections per affected District of Columbia adult is $2,000, the jurisdiction-wide figure. That figure represents the typical balance owed by individuals who have at least one account in collections — not the average across all adults.
How much of District of Columbia's debt in collections is medical debt? +
1.7% of District of Columbia adults have medical debt in collections. That figure follows the 2022 credit-bureau reporting change, which excludes medical debts under $500 from collection reports. Actual medical-debt exposure (including smaller balances and paid-down accounts) is materially higher.
Methodology & sources
How "debt in collections" is measured
The figures on this page are sourced from the Urban Institute Debt in America (2024) release. The Urban Institute calculates each county-level rate from a 2-percent random sample of credit-bureau records, then publishes the share of credit-active adults with at least one account that has been sent to a third-party collection agency or in-house collections unit.
"In collections" means a debt is 90+ days past due and has either been written off by the original creditor or assigned to a collection agency. The Urban Institute reports four breakdowns — overall, medical, credit-card delinquency, and auto/retail delinquency. Medical debt in collections is reported only when it exceeds $500 per the 2022 credit-bureau reporting change.
Coverage caveat: the survey excludes adults without a credit file, which means the published rates are for the credit-active population only. Rates for the full adult population (including those without credit) are typically lower in absolute terms but follow the same county-to-county ordering. Counties with fewer than 50 sampled adults are not published.
Data is free under the Urban Institute's open-data policy. Figures here are licensed under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to USInsights.
Related data
Debt in collections — compare with other states
Click any state for county-level data and rankings.