Parents in the government child support program owed $113.38 billion in past-due support at the end of fiscal year 2025, according to preliminary federal figures. That was $2.35 billion less than a year earlier, the first drop in the five years shown here. Most of the decline came from Texas, where reported arrears fell from $20.52 billion to $18.34 billion.
8,314,679 cases had arrears, an average of $13,636 per case. Payments were made toward the arrears in 5,135,806 of those cases (61.8%), and $7.39 billion of past-due support was collected and paid out during the year.
Texas ($18.34 billion) and California ($17.28 billion) reported the largest totals, followed by New York ($7.13 billion) and Florida ($6.47 billion). Totals largely follow the size of each program’s caseload, so the average per case is a better comparison.
What the figures measure
The figures cover only cases handled by state and territorial child support agencies under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (IV-D). Families receiving cash assistance are referred to these agencies, and other parents can apply for their services. Support paid privately, outside the program, is not included. Arrears are the total past-due support owed on these cases for all years, as of the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, 2025.
The FY2025 figures are preliminary and can be revised. States report them on federal form OCSE-157, and the federal tables note that reliability reviews for FY2024 and FY2025 were not available when they were published. Changes in a state’s total can reflect collections, write-offs, case closures or changes in how the state counts cases, not only changes in what parents owe.
- Arrears collected: past-due support collected and distributed during FY2025.
- Share of cases paying: cases with a payment toward arrears during the year, divided by cases with arrears due.
- Average per case: our calculation, total arrears divided by cases with arrears.
By state
| State or territory | Arrears owed, FY2025 | Change from FY2024 | Cases with arrears | Average per case | Arrears collected in FY2025 | Share of cases paying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $18,342.7M | -10.6% | 926,819 | $19,791 | $1,077.7M | 46.6% |
| California | $17,276.8M | +0.6% | 708,685 | $24,379 | $828.7M | 62.1% |
| New York | $7,132.8M | +0.3% | 431,343 | $16,536 | $487.3M | 56.2% |
| Florida | $6,470.0M | +2.3% | 421,846 | $15,337 | $455.8M | 70.5% |
| Ohio | $4,494.4M | -1.5% | 489,314 | $9,185 | $325.2M | 65.9% |
| Alabama | $4,006.8M | +1.7% | 156,444 | $25,612 | $114.3M | 58.4% |
| Michigan | $3,677.1M | -5.9% | 426,984 | $8,612 | $280.4M | 61.9% |
| Tennessee | $3,244.2M | -0.6% | 221,902 | $14,620 | $175.7M | 63.4% |
| New Jersey | $2,757.0M | -0.8% | 177,421 | $15,539 | $207.2M | 67.3% |
| Virginia | $2,601.5M | +1.0% | 212,416 | $12,247 | $180.3M | 64.5% |
| Illinois | $2,593.8M | -1.6% | 224,246 | $11,567 | $228.9M | 61.7% |
| Georgia | $2,448.1M | +1.2% | 245,073 | $9,989 | $168.6M | 66.6% |
| Wisconsin | $2,413.9M | -0.1% | 191,303 | $12,618 | $125.8M | 68.1% |
| Missouri | $2,208.6M | +2.1% | 183,205 | $12,055 | $175.8M | 57.4% |
| Massachusetts | $2,065.4M | -2.6% | 122,677 | $16,836 | $130.8M | 63.8% |
| Louisiana | $2,026.7M | +0.9% | 168,442 | $12,032 | $126.4M | 56.6% |
| Washington | $1,775.6M | +1.0% | 207,430 | $8,560 | $160.8M | 61.8% |
| Mississippi | $1,688.3M | -0.4% | 171,730 | $9,831 | $104.8M | 57.7% |
| Indiana | $1,680.1M | -3.4% | 171,034 | $9,823 | $141.4M | 74.1% |
| North Carolina | $1,655.4M | +0.9% | 236,800 | $6,991 | $143.4M | 67.4% |
| Arizona | $1,605.8M | +2.6% | 92,509 | $17,358 | $77.6M | 53.8% |
| Puerto Rico | $1,557.3M | -0.8% | 121,942 | $12,771 | $70.0M | 47.6% |
| Maryland | $1,438.2M | +1.4% | 114,254 | $12,587 | $116.9M | 65.5% |
| Oklahoma | $1,359.8M | -4.1% | 113,664 | $11,963 | $81.0M | 62.4% |
| Kentucky | $1,328.6M | -2.2% | 155,478 | $8,546 | $95.0M | 61.9% |
| Connecticut | $1,321.1M | -2.8% | 89,195 | $14,811 | $71.3M | 64.4% |
| South Carolina | $1,129.2M | -1.3% | 113,400 | $9,958 | $82.0M | 65.9% |
| Minnesota | $1,025.0M | -4.0% | 121,294 | $8,451 | $106.5M | 68.9% |
| Colorado | $1,016.1M | +2.3% | 99,496 | $10,212 | $80.3M | 66.8% |
| Oregon | $990.3M | -2.2% | 101,925 | $9,716 | $120.7M | 63.2% |
| Kansas | $944.8M | -0.4% | 90,347 | $10,457 | $59.2M | 55.5% |
| Arkansas | $830.1M | +2.5% | 88,614 | $9,368 | $69.8M | 67.6% |
| Iowa | $794.1M | +0.8% | 106,111 | $7,483 | $68.8M | 66.3% |
| Nevada | $765.5M | +1.5% | 69,364 | $11,037 | $57.9M | 66.0% |
| Pennsylvania | $712.1M | -0.6% | 183,844 | $3,874 | $149.3M | 84.5% |
| New Mexico | $705.6M | -2.0% | 35,877 | $19,666 | $34.4M | 62.6% |
| Nebraska | $612.5M | -0.8% | 60,009 | $10,207 | $44.3M | 70.4% |
| West Virginia | $596.1M | -1.6% | 52,114 | $11,438 | $37.7M | 63.8% |
| Alaska | $586.7M | -0.6% | 30,889 | $18,994 | $38.8M | 65.7% |
| Idaho | $388.8M | -1.6% | 53,316 | $7,293 | $39.5M | 65.3% |
| Hawaii | $388.2M | -3.2% | 30,952 | $12,542 | $21.6M | 43.8% |
| Maine | $379.3M | +0.1% | 30,866 | $12,290 | $28.8M | 65.7% |
| Delaware | $352.4M | +0.7% | 34,892 | $10,101 | $21.3M | 49.9% |
| Utah | $350.7M | -1.5% | 49,016 | $7,156 | $39.9M | 63.1% |
| Rhode Island | $320.5M | +0.9% | 29,334 | $10,925 | $20.9M | 50.2% |
| South Dakota | $238.6M | -1.3% | 28,403 | $8,401 | $20.7M | 61.1% |
| District of Columbia | $235.9M | +1.3% | 22,740 | $10,372 | $12.0M | 47.8% |
| New Hampshire | $184.4M | -0.3% | 20,982 | $8,787 | $19.9M | 69.7% |
| North Dakota | $180.1M | -3.6% | 20,694 | $8,702 | $20.6M | 71.0% |
| Montana | $138.7M | +3.1% | 23,710 | $5,848 | $18.0M | 65.0% |
| Wyoming | $124.5M | -2.6% | 17,704 | $7,030 | $14.8M | 79.0% |
| Vermont | $81.8M | -1.4% | 9,275 | $8,818 | $9.0M | 77.5% |
| Guam | $77.7M | +0.4% | 3,439 | $22,601 | $2.1M | 39.4% |
| Virgin Islands | $57.4M | -2.6% | 3,916 | $14,649 | $1.7M | 34.4% |
50 states, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The CSV includes each jurisdiction’s arrears for fiscal years 2021 to 2025.
Source
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Services, FY2025 Preliminary Data Report tables P-85 to P-88, downloaded October 25, 2026. U.S. government data in the public domain. Averages, shares and changes are our calculations. Our table is available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Child Support Arrears by State," My Credit Guide, October 25, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/child-support-arrears-by-state/.