California

18% of California student loans are delinquent

Published

6 months ago

May 21, 2025

18% of California student loans are delinquent

Despite the financial stress of Golden State life, Californians are relatively good at paying bills compared with the rest of the nation.

Take student loans. In the first quarter of 2025, 18% of California student loans were late.

That may seem like a stunningly high rate of skipped payments, but it’s the 10th lowest delinquency rate among the states and the District of Columbia. And across the nation, 23% of student loans were delinquent.

That’s what was found by my trusty spreadsheet’s review of bill-payment data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The research, from 2003 to the first quarter of 2025, examines debt levels and payments drawn from individuals with credit histories.

The latest report was the first since student-loan repayment reprieves ended. That means late payments on many educational loans were once again being reported to credit bureaus. This provides a window into the scope of this education-linked financial challenge.

Student loans are roughly 5% of all California debts. These borrowings equal $4,660 per capita of the $87,620 total consumer borrowings statewide.

Nationally, it’s a bigger hurdle: student loans run $5,470 per capita – or 9% of Americans’ $62,490 per capita debts.

The ability to pay varies wildly. Mississippi was the worst at student-loan repayment, with 45% of these debts in arrears, followed by Alabama, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, all at 34%.

The best at making payments lived in Illinois and Massachusetts, with 14% delinquency, followed by Connecticut, Virginia and New Hampshire were next at 15%.

Bigger picture

To start 2025, only 1.9% of all California consumer debts were 90 days or more past due.

Yes, skipped bills increased from 1.6% at year-end 2024. And it’s California’s highest level of tardy bills since the second quarter of 2020, when coronavirus lockdowns severely impacted the economy.

However, this level of delinquency is significantly lower than the 3.6% average lateness since 2003.

Nationally, 2.9% of bills were late in the first quarter, up from 1.9% at year’s end. Like California, the rate is still historically low. American tardiness has averaged 3.8% during the last 22 years.

California’s economy also has its challenges. Job creation has slowed to a crawl. The state remains unaffordable for the masses. The Trump administration’s “America First” thinking collides with California’s globally oriented business climate. Consumer confidence is also down.

That monetary angst can be found in the slowdown in Californians taking on new debts.

In the first quarter, total borrowings increased at an annual rate of only 0.8%. That’s well below the 3.3% growth pace since 2003.

It’s a similar picture across the nation. Borrowings are up 1% in a year vs. a 3.3% average growth.

Home sweet home

The New York Fed tells us Californians are getting better with home loans, which are 81% of all consumer debts statewide.

Just 0.56% of mortgage balances were 90 days or more late to start 2025. That’s down from 0.58% at year’s end. Although we’ll note that the late mortgage level in the fourth quarter of 2024 was the highest since the second quarter of 2020.

And lateness is historically low – below the average 2.8% late home loans since 2003.

Equally noteworthy is that California’s improvement rate comes as more Americans fail to make timely payments on mortgages, which are 70% of all U.S. consumer debts.

In the first quarter, 0.9% of U.S. home loans were late – the worst payment pace in five years. That’s up from 0.6% at year’s end, but this is still comfortably below the 2.6% historical norm.

There is a rising level of deeply troubled homeowners.

California had 15 new foreclosures per 1,000 consumers in the first quarter. That’s the highest since the first quarter of 2020 and up from 12 at year’s end. But to be fair, it’s also nowhere near the 88 per 1,000 average since 2003.

Same story nationally with 21 U.S. foreclosure starts per 1,000 consumers – up from 14 at year’s end but off the 70 historic pace.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Source link

Related Topics:Business California Economy Featured housing Mortgages news Personal Finance Top Stories

Click to comment

California

CAL FIRE company officer training reaches record 2025 total in California

Published

10 minutes ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

CAL FIRE company officer training reaches record 2025 total in California

Record year for CAL FIRE training

The office of Governor Gavin Newsom said CAL FIRE has trained more than 650 Company Officers in 2025, marking a record year for leadership development across California.

According to the governor’s office, four Company Officer academies have operated at full capacity during 2025.

The newest site, the Atwater Training Center in Merced County, opened in July 2025 to meet rising training demand.

Existing facilities in Ione, Redding and Riverside have supported the expanded training programme.

The office said this training year reflects a sustained focus on developing professional leaders for CAL FIRE operations across the state.

Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, said: “Rapidly expanding our world-class firefighting force is just one piece of California’s unprecedented investment in fire protection and readiness.

“From new training facilities to the Southern California Emergency Operations Center, we’re building the infrastructure and workforce our communities need to face the climate challenges ahead.

“While Donald Trump undercuts federal readiness for mega-fires that threaten communities across the west, California continues to dominate with key investments in fire readiness and response.”

Company Officer Academy Class 25-14 graduation

The office confirmed that 38 CAL FIRE Company Officers have graduated from Company Officer Academy Class 25-14 at the Ione Training Center.

This cohort is described as the final class in the 2025 training cycle.

The graduates have completed an intensive syllabus and will move into leadership roles across the department.

CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler administered the oath to the new Company Officers.

Tyler’s keynote address highlighted the workload involved in delivering this year’s instruction.

CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler said: “This milestone year of training represents our commitment to the future of CAL FIRE and the safety of California.

“We recognize the achievement of these 38 students, as well as the dedication of our training staff who maintained exceptionally high standards while sustaining this record-setting pace.”

State investment in wildfire readiness and prevention

The governor’s office linked the graduation to wider state investment in wildfire response and prevention capabilities.

According to the office, California has doubled its spending on wildfire prevention and resilience efforts since 2020.

State figures report more than $2.5 billion allocated to wildfire resilience programmes.

An additional $1.5 billion is due to come from the 2024 Climate Bond.

California has also invested $173 million in community-based wildfire projects aimed at helping local areas protect themselves from wildfires.

The office described the firefighters graduating at the new training facility as an example of this funding in practice.

The governor’s office added that California has joined the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact.

This agreement expands mutual aid partnerships for major wildfire incidents to additional agencies across the US and Canada.

How expanded CAL FIRE capacity relates to sector priorities

The expansion of CAL FIRE Company Officer training and the opening of the Atwater Training Center in Merced County provide practical information for fire and rescue chiefs and senior officers tracking workforce development in US wildland agencies.

A record total of more than 650 Company Officers trained in 2025 indicates the scale of leadership capacity being built within CAL FIRE.

Training officers and instructors may note that four academies operated at full capacity, with a new site added to handle increased demand.

Emergency and disaster response managers can draw on the detailed figures on state investment, including more than $2.5 billion for wildfire resilience, $1.5 billion from the 2024 Climate Bond and $173 million for community-based projects.

Government departments and mutual aid coordinators will be directly affected by California’s decision to join the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact, which broadens access to partner resources during major wildfire incidents.

Source link

California

All lanes reopen on 5 Freeway in Oceanside after officer-involved shooting forces closure

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

All lanes reopen on 5 Freeway in Oceanside after officer-involved shooting forces closure

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — Hours after an officer-involved shooting prompted the full closure of the 5 Freeway in Oceanside, all lanes were reopened Saturday afternoon as the investigation continues.

“The 5 is closed in both directions between Oceanside and the Orange County border while police investigate a shooting,” Caltrans said in a social media post at 9:39 a.m., adding that drivers should use the 15 Freeway as an alternative route.

The Buena Park Police Department said its officers attempted to pull over a car for vehicle code violations just before 1 p.m. in the area of La Palma Avenue and San Marino Drive, but the car failed to stop and a pursuit ensued.

“At 1:05 a.m. we asked CHP to take over the pursuit. They did but requested our K-9 unit stay in the pursuit,” Buena Park police said in a statement.

Police said that at 2:10 a.m., the suspect vehicle was brought to a stop and then an officer-involved shooting occurred. It was not immediately known what led to the shooting.

A SigAlert was issued shortly after 2:30 a.m. between Harbor Drive in Oceanside and Christianitos Road in San Clemente, according to the California Highway Patrol.

As several lanes were reopened hours later, the Highway Patrol urged motorists to continue to use caution and watch for personnel in the area.

The investigation is ongoing.

Source link

California

Chris Bell scores 21, sparks California to 91-67 victory over Sacramento State

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

Chris Bell scores 21, sparks California to 91-67 victory over Sacramento State

BERKELEY, Calif. — – Chris Bell scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and California cruised to a 91-67 victory over Sacramento State on Friday night in a campus game of the Empire Classic.

Bell and Justin Pippen combined for 29 points to help California take a 47-33 lead into the break. Bell sank 6 of 8 shots with three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

John Camden’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run to begin the second half and the Golden Bears (5-1) were never threatened. Cal took its biggest lead at 81-47 on a 3-pointer by Camden with nine minutes left to play.

Pippen finished with 16 points and five assists. Dai Dai Ames also scored 16 and Camden totaled 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Brandon Gardner hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and scored 19 to lead the Hornets (3-4). Mark Lavrenov had 14 points and Prophet Johnson notched his fifth double-double of the young season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Golden Bears shot 50.8% overall and made 15 of 38 from beyond the arc (39.5%).

Sac State made only 18 of 67 shots (26.9%) overall, including 7 of 24 from distance. The Hornets made 24 of 30 free throws, while Cal sank 10 of 19.

—— Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballbr/]

Source link