These Counties Are the Most At-Risk of Declining Values

Growing foreclosure rates, high mortgage rates, and low wages are challenging homeowners and buyers across the U.S., but some markets have become more vulnerable to these factors than others. Property data provider ATTOM’s Housing Risk Report for Q-3 2025 looks at local county level data to determine which markets are the most at-risk of declining values based on the share of homes facing foreclosure, the share of homes with seriously underwater mortgages, and average local wages compared with local home prices.

The report shows that 16 of the 50 most at-risk markets were in California, followed by nine in New Jersey, four in Florida, and three each in Arizona and Texas. The top five at-risk counties were all located in California, except for Charlotte County, Fla., which ranked third. Other high-risk counties include Butte County, Calif.; Humboldt County, Calif; Shasta County, Calif.; and El Dorado County, Calif.

Of the 50 least risky counties in ATTOM’s third quarter analysis, seven were in Wisconsin, five were in Tennessee, and four each were in Montana, New Hampshire, and Virginia.

The least risky counties were Berkeley County, WV; Chittenden County, VT; Erie County, NY; Olmsted County, MN; and Albany County, NY. All five had unemployment rates at or below 4 percent and a foreclosure rate of, at most, one in every 2,624 properties.