Where Medical Debt Hits the Hardest in the US

The share of people with medical or dental bills in collections varies widely from one county to another

< 10%

11-20%

21-30%

31-40%

> 40%

Chloropleth map of every US county in the US, with dark blue corresponding to lower levels of debt, while red correlates to higher levels of debt. There is a large concentration of dark blue in Midwest and Northwestern states, while the Southeast shows varying degrees of red.
Map of every US county in the US, with the top 100 counties with US debt highlighted in red. These counties are generally concentratd in the Southeast, going as far west as Texas, and as far north as West Virginia.

Source: Tabulations of the August 2021 Urban Institute credit bureau data.

Credit: Juweek Adolphe/Alyson Hurt for KHN and NPR