Average Credit Score – By Age, State, Year & More

The average credit score in the U.S. is anywhere from 669 to 699. It depends on which credit report and credit-score model are used.

Below, you can learn more about the average credit scores by year, state, age and more. Reviewing these credit score statistics will give you a better sense of how good your credit score is relative to those of your peers. Credit-score averages can also tell us a lot about the health of consumers’ finances and the strength of the economy.

Finally, it’s important to note that while many different types of credit scores exist, the most popular ones all use the standard 300 to 850 credit-score range. They’re also based on the same information – your credit reports – and produce very similar results in most cases, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So it doesn’t really matter whether an average credit score is based on a VantageScore or FICO model, as long the data is consistent. After all, there isn’t one “real” credit score.

Average Credit Score by Year

The average U.S. credit score can tell us a great deal about the health of consumers and the economy more broadly. That’s especially true when you examine credit-score averages over time.

For example, the average VantageScore credit score improved by 11 points from 2007 to 2015, reflecting our rebound from the Great Recession.

Credit-score statistics tend to be relatively slow to reflect such big economic events, however, making them somewhat unreliable for predictive purposes.

Sources: MyFICO.com & New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax

Average Credit Score by Age

Statistics show that credit scores tend to improve as people age. As you can see from the table below, the oldest people have the highest credit scores, on average. And scores decline by age group all the way to the youngest cohort, which has the lowest average credit score.

The accumulation of wealth and experience over time is the most likely explanation for this. As people age, they also tend to grow more financially responsible and secure, qualities that lend themselves to credit improvement. And the more time you have, the more opportunity there is to recover from mistakes. Another reason is the way credit scores are calculated. The length of your credit history accounts for a significant portion of your score (around 15%), for one thing.

Source: Experian 2016 State of Credit

There is not a direct correlation between credit quality and age, though. In 2016, the average person with bad credit was 11 years older than the average person with excellent credit, as the following table shows.

Average Age by Credit Score Tier

Source: WalletHub

Some people assume that younger folks have lower credit scores because they now face a tougher time obtaining credit due to the CARD Act’s restrictions. But you can still get a credit card when you turn 18. You just need to demonstrate that you have access to enough income or assets to afford the minimum monthly payments, which are usually around $15 to start.

Besides, 56% of college students have been using credit cards as of 2016, according to Sallie Mae, and the average student has three cards.

Average Credit Score by State

The average credit score by state ranges from 642 in Mississippi all the way to 702 in Minnesota. And both states are fairly representative of their broader regions, as you can see below. If you’re wondering, blue states have a higher average credit score (676) than red states (667).

Source: TransUnion

Average Credit Score by Region

The South has the worst credit, on average (657), whereas the Midwest has the best (680). In fact, four of the five states with the highest average credit scores are in the Midwest. With that being said, every region has at least one state whose residents boast good credit, on average.

So while job opportunities, living costs and other local factors definitely affect credit-score averages, it’s also true that credit scores can flourish anywhere.

Average Credit Score by City

It’s no surprise that The Villages, Fla., an upscale retirement community, has the nation’s highest average credit score (779). As mentioned in the Average Credit Score by Age section, older people tend to have the best credit. Unfortunately, the cities with the lowest credit scores aren’t all that surprising, either. Camden, N.J., (566) and East Saint Louis, Ill., (572) both have long struggled with high crime and unemployment rates.

Below, you can find your city’s average credit score and see how it compares nationally. And in case you’re wondering, the 50 state capitals have a slightly higher average credit score (666) than that of the nation’s capital (664).

Just to recap, here’s how those city-average credit scores compare to the nationwide average credit score for 2016:

Average Credit Score in the U.S.

For your reference, the city averages are TransUnion VantageScores. You can check your latest TransUnion VantageScore for free on WalletHub.

Average Credit Score by Income

You don’t need a lot of money to build a good or excellent credit score. Anyone can do it, as long as they spend within their means and always pay their bills on time.

But it’s still interesting to see how the average credit score changes by income level.

Source: WalletHub, 2017

Full Credit-Score Distribution

For those interested in going beyond credit-score averages, the following breakdown of where different groups of people fall on the standard 300-to-850 credit-score scale will give you a better understanding of just how much consumers’ financial experiences can vary. These statistics also show a clear divide between people with bad credit and the rest of us, which underscores the importance of using credit responsibly.

All columns may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Ask The Experts

For more insights on what we can learn from credit score averages, WalletHub posed the following questions to a panel of personal finance experts. Check out who they are and what they said, below.

• What can we learn from the average person’s credit score and how it changes over time?
• How responsive are credit score averages to periods of economic distress?
• Why do you think Minnesota has the highest average credit score (702), while Mississippi has the lowest (642)?

• James N. Mohs Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of New Haven
• Keith Moreland Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan-Flint
• Oliver Schnusenberg Director of UNF’s Financial Services Program and Professor of Finance at the University of North Florida
• Stephani Mason Assistant Professor in the School of Accountancy & MIS at DePaul University College of Business

James N. Mohs

Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of New Haven

What can we learn from the average person’s credit score and how it changes over time?

Credit scores, as well as the trends that they expose, may be extremely helpful for lenders granting credit. How scores change over time or the trending can reflect financial issues with the borrowers. For example, a history of late or delinquent payments would indicate that a borrower may be overextended, and any additional lending may be risky. Conversely, a history of current payments and no delinquencies may indicate that a borrower may be of lower risk. As it stands, right now there are multiple different credit reporting agencies that will generally score a person’s creditworthiness differently and, accordingly, will have different scores. This can often be problematic, when the variable of timely corrections is entered into the calculations.

How responsive are credit score averages to periods of economic distress?

In general, credit scores seem to be a lag indicator of individual credit history. In short, they may tell lenders what has historically happened, but are not indicative of future performance or expectations. Essentially, credit scores are driven by the reporting vendors or entities, and are often either not current, or are subject to needed correction. Keeping in mind that credit scores are driven in part by vendors’ reporting of events/issues, responsive credit scores during periods of economic distress will be subject to the same vendor policies. If policy driven, one should expect them to be creditor driven and not economic distress driven.

Why do you think Minnesota has the highest average credit score (702), while Mississippi has the lowest (642)?

There may be several reasons why Minnesota has the highest average credit scores, and Mississippi has the lowest. To understand the state-by-state differential trends, lenders or other users would need to look at demographics, industrial base and unemployment rates within the target states.

Keith Moreland

Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan-Flint

What can we learn from the average person’s credit score and how it changes over time?

Changes in a person’s credit score indicate how well that person established, paid off, and stayed current on her/his debt. A person who gradually (not dramatically) increases borrowing capacity and then stays current and pays off that debt on time will see her/his credit score rise. A decline in a credit score would result from not staying current on servicing their debt. To a degree, there is a Goldilocks component to credit scores: if you have too much or too little debt, your credit score will not be maximized. Of course, however, too much debt and not staying current with its repayment is significantly more problematic than too little debt. So declines in credit scores probably indicate problems in repaying loans.

How responsive are credit score averages to periods of economic distress?

It is surprising to see that average credit scores were not significantly affected by the economic distress experienced during the economic downturn around 2008. The data I found showed that national average credit scores declined only from 690 just prior to that downturn, to 687 during that downturn. That is a pretty small decline, which does not seem to be in line with the news reports of large numbers of people being underwater, and defaulting on mortgages and other debts during that time period. It suggests to me that many lenders recognized the economic distress in would-be borrowers, and limited the amounts that were loaned. But this data would indicate that the short answer to your question is not really responsive.

Why do you think Minnesota has the highest average credit score (702), while Mississippi has the lowest (642)?

States with strong, healthy and stable economies will have higher average credit scores. By stable, I mean not boom and bust. Some economically strong states that are more boom-or-bust would have lower credit scores than states that have healthy economies but are more stable. The boom-or-bust situation could result in greater numbers of people getting credit when times are good, but having a more difficult time paying it off when times are not so good. States with lower average credit scores generally have weaker and, to a degree, more volatile economies. The examples you cite in Minnesota and Mississippi, and generally states ranked at the top and bottom of average credit scores fit into this dichotomy.

Oliver Schnusenberg

Director of UNF’s Financial Services Program and Professor of Finance at the University of North Florida

What can we learn from the average person’s credit score and how it changes over time?

There are five components to a person’s FICO score: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and types of credit used. Thus, as a person matures and establishes a credit history and credit habits, his or her credit score will change to reflect this history and these habits.

How responsive are credit score averages to periods of economic distress?

Generally speaking, the credit score of an individual reflects the economic conditions of the region the individual lives in. The credit scores of a region in economic distress will decline with a lag, since it is reasonable to assume that at least some portion of the population has emergency funds.

Why do you think Minnesota has the highest average credit score (702), while Mississippi has the lowest (642)?

I believe people from Minnesota are much more conservative with debt, reflecting their European background. In addition, they tend to pay off the debt they take on responsibly.

Stephani Mason

Assistant Professor in the School of Accountancy & MIS at DePaul University College of Business

What can we learn from the average person’s credit score and how it changes over time?

Right now, the average credit score in the country is around 700, which is likely an all-time high of 695. The average score has been increasing over the last decade, but there was a dip right after the Global Recession of 2008-2009 ended. We can learn a lot about the financial well-being of the country by how the average score changes. There is a difference in can pay and will pay. One speaks to the ability of someone to pay, while the other speaks to their willingness and/or desire to pay. Most people will pay, if they are able. When we see dips in the average score, it’s generally, in my opinion, because people lack the ability to make their bill payments.

How responsive are credit score averages to periods of economic distress?

Generally speaking, we would see the decline in the scores after the start of economic distress. First, people lose their jobs, then they start to miss payments or stop paying altogether. It sometimes takes a while to hit the score, because some people have the ability to live off of savings for a while.

Why do you think Minnesota has the highest average credit score (702), while Mississippi has the lowest (642)?

I am Southern, and unfortunately, the lowest credit scores in America can be found in the southern states. This is partly due to higher unemployment, and lower levels of health, education and income. According to your last study, Mississippi, for example, was near the bottom of economic activity rank, economic health rank, and innovation potential rank. These things impact the livelihood of the people and show up in the average credit rating. Minnesota, on the other hand, has a thriving economy, as well as a well-educated and healthy population. That, too shows up in the average credit rating.