Credit Score Statistics and Facts – Where Do You Stand?

Credit scores come in a range of 300 to 850. In that vast range you find everyone in the country who has a credit score. Where are you standing with your FICO and VantageScore credit scores these days? We will look at these numbers in this chapter. 

Average FICO Score Statistics

The average FICO score for American consumers is 695 (as of April 2019). This is actually a good credit score. Poor scores are those below 550 with FICO. Nearly 12 percent of Americans possess a credit score that is 549 or lower per FICO. They are the sub prime borrowers. 

Looking at the other end of the range, some US citizen actually possess an over 800 FICO credit score. These fortunate individuals (with an 800 to 850 score) comprise over 20 percent of the population. These are the super prime borrowers. 

It is hard, although not impossible, to have a perfect 850 FICO credit score. This rarest of credit scores belongs to under one percent of the entire population. 

Average VantageScore Statistics

At this same time in 2019, the average American possessed a VantageScore of 673. Millenials (aged 22 to 35) boasted a VantageScore of only 634. The next category of adults aged from 35 to 51 were slightly higher on average with a Gen X VantageScore amounting to 655. Baby Boomers of the 52 to 70 year age group boasted an impressive average 700 VantageScore. The Silent Generation of seniors aged over 70 did the best, holding average VantageScores of 730.

Gender’s Impact Your Credit Score

In a word, yes your gender does impact your credit scores. The reason has nothing to do with secret discrimination though. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve conducted a survey analyzing over 10 years of data obtained from TransUnion and Mintel. 

They gathered data on over 4,000 single women and over 3,700 single men aged 21 to 40. Head Economist Geng Li who wrote the report discovered that women had lower credit scores on average than men. The average women’s VantageScore in the 21 to 30 age group was 762 versus the men of the same group’s 768. In the group of from 31 to 40, men boasted 793 to women’s 785. 

Though women boasted fewer credit inquiries and a longer credit history established, the women were also more likely to consistently carry larger amounts of debt leading to higher credit utilization ratios and to fall into late payments and delinquent accounts than the men in either age group. 

The two highest component categories of the scoring models hurt women more than men as a result and led to lower female credit scores in general. Yet it is worth nothing that the disparity was about one percent apart only. 

Overview of Credit Scores by Year, Age, Income, and State

It is good to know where you stand versus your peers in credit scores. I have gathered this information in this final section. Below I compare average credit scores based on year and age, income, and by state.

Average Credit Scores by Year and Age

By age, there is a surprising spread of credit scores. The following table shows the differences in averages:

Average Credit Scores by Income

Credit scores by income varied significantly from the bottom earners to the top ones. The lowest income category with less than 50 percent of the median family income had a 664 score. Moderate income individuals with a from 51 percent to 79 percent of the MFI had 716, a significantly better credit score. 

The middle income group of from 80 percent to 119 percent of the MFI possessed a score of 753. Finally, the top earners with over 120 percent of the MFI counted on an average credit score of 775, per Lending Tree and Value Penguin’s data and graphs.

Average Credit Scores By State

By state, there was a somewhat surprising range of credit scores. This table below shows the distribution of scores per state:

Rank	State	ø Score	ø Cards	ø Balance
35	Alaska	668	2.9	$8,515
48	Alabama	654	2.69	$5,961
43	Arkansas	657	2.76	$5,660
34	Arizona	669	3.04	$6,389
24	California	680	3.23	$6,481
15	Colorado	688	3.13	$6,718
12	Connecticut	690	3.23	$7,258
33	District of Columbia	670	2.98	$6,963
31	Delaware	672	3.13	$6,366
35	Florida	668	3.19	$6,388
48	Georgia	654	2.97	$6,675
10	Hawaii	693	3.25	$6,981
8	Iowa	695	2.67	$5,155
23	Idaho	681	2.88	$5,817
21	Illinois	683	3.14	$6,410
37	Indiana	667	2.77	$5,581
24	Kansas	680	2.82	$6,082
39	Kentucky	663	2.78	$5,555
50	Louisiana	650	2.77	$6,074
5	Massachusetts	699	3.21	$6,327
31	Maryland	672	3.16	$7,043
13	Maine	689	2.91	$5,784
29	Michigan	677	2.91	$5,622
1	Minnesota	709	2.97	$5,911
30	Missouri	675	2.91	$5,897
51	Mississippi	647	2.57	$5,421
13	Montana	689	2.87	$5,845
38	North Carolina	666	2.95	$6,117
6	North Dakota	697	2.9	$5,511
8	Nebraska	695	2.83	$5,630
3	New Hampshire	701	3.1	$6,490
20	New Jersey	686	3.49	$7,151
41	New Mexico	659	2.79	$6,317
47	Nevada	655	3.18	$6,401
15	New York	688	3.34	$6,671
27	Ohio	678	3.02	$5,843
45	Oklahoma	656	2.71	$6,296
15	Oregon	688	2.95	$6,012
18	Pennsylvania	687	3.07	$6,146
18	Rhode Island	687	3.26	$6,375
43	South Carolina	657	2.9	$6,157
4	South Dakota	700	2.8	$5,692
40	Tennessee	662	2.77	$5,975
45	Texas	656	3.06	$6,902
21	Utah	683	2.95	$5,960
24	Virginia	680	3.08	$7,161
2	Vermont	702	2.86	$5,924
10	Washington	693	2.99	$6,592
7	Wisconsin	696	2.8	$5,363
42	West Virginia	658	2.76	$5,547
27	Wyoming	678	2.81	$6,245

Average Credit Scores of Home Buyers

The average homebuyer had a high credit score of 728. This was a little bit higher than the national average in general. Of more than 85,000 applicants for mortgages which the Federal Reserve surveyed, only 6.8 percent possessed a score under 620. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank published a credit report on home buyers in 2010. The data considered minority groups versus whites as well. Every group surveyed except for African American consumers possessed credit score averages higher than 700. 

Asian borrowers were the most fortunate, with an average high of 745 in FICO credit scores. Non-hispanic white had 734 average scores. Hispanics had 701 scores on average.

Don’t Let Bad Credit Hold You Back From Achieving Financial Freedom!