Debt in Collections · Rhode Island
Rhode Island — debt in collections by county
Across the 5 counties in Rhode Island measured by the Urban Institute's Debt in America survey, 14.5% of adults have at least one account in collections. The county-level range is wide: Providence, RI sits at 21.5% while Newport, RI is just 11.3% — a 1.9× spread within a single state.
The median dollar amount in collections for Rhode Island residents is $1,919 per affected adult, based on Urban Institute's 2024 release.
National comparison · Rhode Island
How does Rhode Island compare nationally?
Rhode Island ranks #43 of 50 states. At 14.5%, the state is 24 percentage points below the national average of 19.0%.
Among Northeast states, Rhode Island has the lowest debt-in-collections rate; the next-lowest are Massachusetts (14.5%) and Vermont (14.5%).
State averages — debt subtypes
What kinds of debt drive the Rhode Island total
The Urban Institute reports debt in collections in four categories. Across Rhode Island's 5 counties, the average rates are:
- Any debt in collections: 14.5% of adults
- Medical debt in collections: 1.2% — debt sent to collections for medical bills
- Credit card delinquency: 4.2% — 90+ days past due on at least one card
- Auto/retail loan delinquency: 2.8% — 60+ days past due on auto or retail credit
These figures are county averages weighted equally — 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.
Top 10 — Highest Debt Counties
Counties in Rhode Island ranked by debt in collections
Bottom 5 — Lowest Debt Counties
Rhode Island's least indebted counties
Frequently asked — debt in Rhode Island
Common questions
What percentage of Rhode Island adults have debt in collections? +
14.5% of adults in Rhode Island have at least one account in collections, based on the Urban Institute's 2024 Debt in America survey. That figure is the average across the 5 Rhode Island counties measured. The county-level rate varies widely from 11.3% in Newport, RI to 21.5% in Providence, RI.
Which Rhode Island county has the highest debt-in-collections rate? +
Providence, RI has the highest debt-in-collections rate in Rhode Island at 21.5%. The next four highest counties are Kent, RI (16.2%), Bristol, RI (12.1%), Washington, RI (11.6%), Newport, RI (11.3%). Rates are credit-bureau-derived and reflect the credit-active adult population only.
Which Rhode Island county has the lowest debt-in-collections rate? +
Newport, RI has the lowest rate in Rhode Island at 11.3%. The lowest-debt counties in Rhode Island are Newport, RI (11.3%), Washington, RI (11.6%), Bristol, RI (12.1%), Kent, RI (16.2%), Providence, RI (21.5%).
What is the median amount of debt in collections in Rhode Island? +
The median dollar amount in collections per affected Rhode Island adult is $1,919, averaged across the 5 measured counties. 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 Rhode Island's debt in collections is medical debt? +
1.2% of Rhode Island adults have medical debt in collections, on average across measured counties. 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.