Swing-State Consumers Hurt More Than Most in Credit Card Squeeze

Household finances all over the US are feeling the pressure of high borrowing costs, and swing-state voters rank among the harder hit.

Credit card delinquencies are running above the national average in six of the seven states expected to be decisive in November’s presidential election, according to data from VantageScore. On some other key measures of financial strain, like the post-pandemic increase in rents, voters in election battlegrounds also tend to be in a tougher spot than most Americans.

There are signs that debt pressures have eased since the start of this year, and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut ...