What Is the Average Credit Score in America?

The average credit score in the U.S. is 695 based on the VantageScore model and 714 based on the FICO score model. That means the average American has a good credit score.

Credit score averages vary based on geography and demographics, however. For example, while the average credit score in the North hovers around 728, it’s about 30 points higher in all other parts of the country. Additionally, individuals in their 20’s have an average credit score of 679, while people in their 50’s have an average credit score more than 60 points higher.

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 27 points from 2010 to 2021, reflecting our rebound from the Great Recession. And in more recent years, average credit scores have stabilized along with the economy.

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

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

 

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Average Credit Score by Age

Statistics show that credit scores tend to improve as people age. As you can see 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)

Some people assume that young adults have lower credit scores because they are not old enough to be approved for a credit card account. But you can still get a credit card when you turn 18 years old. You just need to demonstrate that you have access to enough independent income or assets to afford the minimum monthly payments, which are usually around $15 to start.

Besides, 57% of college students have been using credit cards as of 2019, according to Sallie Mae, and the average student has five cards. Nevertheless, the data does suggest somewhat of a correlation between credit quality and age. The average person with excellent credit was 14 years older than the average person with bad credit in 2019, as the following table shows.

Average Age by Credit Score Tier

Average Credit Score by State

The average credit score by state ranges from 681 in Mississippi all the way to 742 in Minnesota. And both states are fairly representative of their broader regions, as you can see below.

(Source: TransUnion)

Average Credit Score by Region

The Southwest has the worst credit, on average (696), whereas the Northeast has the best (728). In fact, seven of the ten states with the highest average credit scores are in the West North or New England. 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

Out of the largest 50 cities the highest average credit score is in San Francisco, which has an average score of 729. The cities with the lowest average credit scores are Colorado Springs (552) and New Orleans (552). Below, you can find your city’s average credit score and see how it compares statewide and nationally. The national average credit score is 695.

(Source: TransUnion)

 

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Average Credit Score by Income

(Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax 2020 Q2)

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.

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.

FICO® Score Ranges (% of credit scores):

(Source: FICO®)

 

VantageScore Ranges (% of credit scores):

(Source: Experian)

Detailed Findings

Average Credit Score by Year

Average Credit Score by Age

Average Credit Score by State

Average Credit Score by City (Largest 50)

Average Credit Score Distribution

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 (741), while Mississippi has the lowest (681)?