The economic health of cities and communities depends on residents’ financial health and stability. Examining credit scores, delinquencies, and credit use provide helpful metrics for decision makers seeking to understand how residents are coping and what supports are needed during the to support an inclusive economic recovery. A decade of credit health data from 2010-2020 show changes in city residents’ credit health and disparities by race after the Great Recession and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABOUT THE URBAN INSTITUTE’S COLLABORATION WITH JPMORGAN CHASE

The Urban Institute is collaborating with JPMorgan Chase to inform and catalyze a data-driven and inclusive economic recovery. The goals of the collaboration include generating cross-sector, place-based insights to guide local decisionmakers, using data and evidence to help advise JPMorgan Chase on the firm’s philanthropic strategy, and conducting new research to advance the broader fields of policy, philanthropy, and practice. These decks showcase the state of credit health in 8 major cities across the United States from the end of the Great Recession through the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight promising solutions to improve the financial health of residents and advance inclusion.