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Lending by neighborhood relative income level

Income can affect whether someone needs or wants credit and whether they can obtain the credit they want. Since credit records do not contain income, we focus on neighborhood income levels.

We examine how lending activity is changing based on the income level of the census tract where the consumer resides. We group consumers into four income levels based on the ratio between the median family income in the consumer’s census tract and the median family income of their Metropolitan Statistical Area or Micropolitan Statistical Area or of the county (for consumers residing outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area or Micropolitan Statistical Area).

The group definitions include:

• Low income census tract (relative income less than 50%)

• Moderate income census tract (relative income 50% to less than 80%)

• Middle income census tract (relative income 80% to less than 120%)

• Upper income census tract (relative income 120% or higher)

This page includes interactive graphs and CSV files for:

FIGURE 3A:

Lending levels

Monitoring overall activity helps us identify new developments in financial markets. These interactive graphs show the aggregate dollar volume of new credit cards opened each month. Aggregated monthly originations are displayed along with a seasonally adjusted series, which adjust for expected seasonal variation in lending activity.

Low income (relative income less than 50%)

Low income (relative income less than 50%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

Moderate income (relative income 50% to less than 80%)

Moderate income (relative income 50% to less than 80%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

Middle income (relative income 80% to less than 120%)

Middle income (relative income 80% to less than 120%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

High income (relative income 120% or above)

High income (relative income 120% or above)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

FIGURE 3B:

Year-over-year changes

These interactive graphs show the percentage change in the number of new credit cards originated in the month, compared to lending activity from one year ago. Positive changes indicate that lending activity is higher than it was last year and negative values indicate that lending has declined.

Low income (relative income less than 50%)

Low income (relative income less than 50%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

Moderate income (relative income 50% to less than 80%)

Moderate income (relative income 50% to less than 80%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

Middle income (relative income 80% to less than 120%)

Middle income (relative income 80% to less than 120%)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.

High income (relative income 120% or above)

High income (relative income 120% or above)

Source: CFPB Consumer Credit Information Panel
Date published: October 2024
Download: CSV file
Note: Data from the last six months are not final. The most recent data available in this visualization are for March 2024.