Data released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) Tuesday puts the number of home mortgages that are delinquent or in foreclosure at 6,350,000.

The company’s assessment is based on mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database of nearly 40 million mortgage loans through the end of May.

In April, LPS reported that there were 6,388,000 mortgages going unpaid. The month-over-month decline can be attributed to both a decrease in the national delinquency rate and a drop in foreclosure inventories.

According to LPS’ study, the national delinquency rate stood at 7.96 percent as of May month-end. This figure includes loans that are at least 30 days past due but not yet in foreclosure.

The delinquency rate is down 0.1 percent from April and is 18.3 percent lower than it was in May 2010.

LPS says 4.11 percent of the nation’s outstanding mortgages were part of the foreclosure inventory at the end of May.

The foreclosure inventory rate – which LPS calculates as loans that have been referred to an attorney but have not yet reached the final stage of foreclosure sale – was down 0.7 percent from April, but 12.3 percent above the rate reported in May 2010.

Of the 6,350,000 past due home mortgages in the nation, LPS says 2,164,000 were in the process of foreclosure.

The remaining 4,187,000 were 30 or more days past due but the lender had not yet initiated foreclosures. Of these, 1,921,000 were 90-plus days delinquent.

According to LPS’ analysis, the states with highest percentage of non-current loans – which combines foreclosures and delinquencies – include: Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Illinois.

That line-up is the same as reported the previous month, save one. Illinois supplanted Georgia for the No. 5 spot.

Mirroring the previous report’s list of states with the lowest percentage of non-current loans are: Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.