Credit Score Statistics That Say a Lot About American Consumers
Credit scores are essential to many people in the USA. Financial institutions, car dealerships, and even potential employers and landlords sometimes check credit histories. If credit scores are important to you, or you are just curious, the credit score statistics below will provide you with all kinds of insight into today’s American state of credit.
If you want to learn about the average credit scores, utilization rates, debts, number of open accounts and credit cards, and much more, feel free to check them out. Additionally, the article contains data about consumers with excellent credit scores, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the credit of US consumers, and tons of other interesting facts. So, let’s dive right in.
Top 10 Credit Score Statistics and Facts
The average FICO credit score of all American consumers is 714.
Silent Generation Americans have an average FICO credit score of 760.
Minnesota has the highest statewide credit score average in the US, with 742, in 2021.
As of April 2021, 23.3% of Americans have a credit score between 800 and 850.
Americans with credit scores over 800 have an average credit utilization ratio of 5.7%.
The average VantageScore of Gen Z Americans in 2020 was 654.
Americans with credit scores over 800 with a credit history shorter than ten years have an average total debt of $98,408.
46.4% of Americans have either an excellent or a very good FICO credit score.
The FICO scores of 4.8% of American consumers did not change between 2020 and 2021.
23% of US consumers say they never check their credit scores.
Credit Score Facts About Americans With Excellent Scores
As of April 2021, 23.3% of Americans have a credit score between 800 and 850.
Statistics released by FICO reveal that the share of Americans with excellent credit scores of over 800 has been increasing every year since 2013. At that time, only 18.5% had exceptional credit scores before their percentage jumped to 19.3% in 2014 and 19.9% in 2015. In 2016, 20.4% of Americans had a credit score of over 800, which increased slightly, to 20.7%, in 2017. FICO score statistics show that the biggest increase of 1.1% was recorded in 2018 when the share of Americans with excellent scores jumped to 21.8%. In 2019, the percentage reached 22.3% before reaching 23% in 2020 and then 23.3% in 2021.
(FICO)
Americans with excellent credit scores have an average total debt of $138,154.
Looking at the stats by generation reveals that Gen Xers have the highest average total debt of $165,602 out of all Americans with credit scores over 800. They are followed by Millennials with an average total debt of $147,249 and Baby Boomers with $126,145. According to the credit scores by age statistics, Americans with excellent credit scores from the Silent Generation have an average total debt of $100,429, and Gen Zers have the lowest average total debt at $100,429.
(Lending Tree)
The average credit card limit of Americans with excellent credit scores is $58,514.
Baby Boomers with credit scores over 800 have the highest average credit card limit of $60,085, followed by Gen Xers with $59,500. Furthermore, the average credit card limit of Silent Generation Americans with excellent credit scores is $55,966, while it is $52,506 for their Millennial counterparts. Finally, credit score demographics show that Gen Zers have the lowest average credit card limit at only $41,754.
(Lending Tree)
Americans with credit scores over 800 have an average credit utilization ratio of 5.7%.
According to the demographics, Gen Zers and Millennials with excellent credit scores have the lowest average credit utilization ratio among all generations, with an equal rate of 4.6%. Silent Generation Americans have a slightly higher average utilization rate of 4.8%. Moreover, the credit statistics show that Baby Boomers with credit scores over 800 have an average utilization rate of 5.7%, while Gen X Americans have the highest average utilization ratio of 6.3%.
(Lending Tree)
Americans with excellent credit scores have 7.9 open accounts, on average.
Millennials with credit scores over 800 have the highest average number of open accounts with 8.3, followed by Gen Xers with 8.1. Baby Boomers with excellent scores have an average of 7.8 open accounts, while Gen Zers and Silent Generation Americans only have 7.1 open accounts, on average. American credit score statistics show that Millennials also have the highest average number of credit inquiries in the past two years, with 2.8, among all Americans with excellent credit scores. Gen Xers have an average of 2.7, Baby Boomers have 2.4, Silent Generation Americans have 2.3, and Gen Zers have 2.2 credit inquiries in the past two years, on average.
(Lending Tree)
Americans with credit scores over 800 with a credit history shorter than ten years have an average total debt of $98,408.
The credit score facts about Americans with excellent credit scores and short credit score histories also reveal that their average credit card limit is $51,289. In addition, they have an average credit utilization ratio of 2.5%, and they keep an average of 8.9 open accounts, with their oldest active account being 97.1 months old. Lastly, US consumers with credit histories shorter than ten years and excellent credit scores have an average number of 2.7 credit inquiries in the last two years, and their average monthly payments are $687.
(Lending Tree)
Average Credit Score Statistics
The average FICO credit score of all American consumers is 714.
The average credit score of US consumers has been steadily increasing over the last decade, with only two exceptions. In 2013, it slightly decreased to 691, from 693 in the previous year, and the 699 in 2016 did not increase but remained the same throughout 2017. FICO recorded the biggest average credit score jump of 8 points in 2020, when it increased to 710, from 702 the year before. The average American credit score of 714 recorded in 2021 is an all-time high for US consumers.
(Experian)
Silent Generation Americans have an average FICO credit score of 760.
Credit scores have a tendency to improve over time, so it is not surprising to see that the oldest generation of US consumers has the best average credit score out of all generations. Their average credit score also recorded the lowest increase of only two points between 2021 and 2020, when their average score was 758. Furthermore, the US average FICO score by age statistics reveal that Baby Boomers increased their average credit score by four points from 736 in 2020 to 740 in 2021. The scores of Gen Xers and Millennials saw the biggest increase of seven points, rising from 698 to 705 for the former and from 679 to 686 for the latter age group. Finally, Gen Zers improved their average credit score by five points, from 674 to 679.
(Experian)
Minnesota has the highest statewide credit score average in the US, with 742, in 2021.
Data on the average credit score by state further reveals that Vermont and Wisconsin are the remaining two states in the top three, with a statewide average credit score of 736 and 735, respectively. Compared to the statistics from 2020, only Florida, Maine, Mississippi, and Nevada saw an increase of six points in their average credit scores, while the other states had increases of two, three, four, and five points. However, this six-point jump wasn’t enough for Mississippi to climb through the ranks, and it remains the state with the lowest credit score in the US, with an average of 681.
(Experian)
The US national average total debt is $96,371.
Credit score stats indicate a 3.9%, or $3,644, rise in the total average debt of US consumers, compared to their debt of $92,727 in 2020. However, their average credit card debt has decreased by 1.8%, from $5,315 in 2020 to $5,221 in 2021. Additionally, their average credit utilization rate has increased slightly as well, by 0.3 percentage points, from 25.3% in 2020 to 25.6%. Finally, payment delinquency statistics show that 1.04% of the US consumers’ accounts were past due by 30 to 59 days, 0.58% were 60 to 89 days late, and only 0.34% reached 90-180 days past due in 2021.
(Experian)
Facts About Credit Score During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Americans in 2020 had an average VantageScore of 688.
The data suggests that US consumers improved their average VantageScore by six points during the first year of the pandemic, from 682 in 2019. Moreover, while the average number of credit cards they use didn’t decrease too significantly, from 3.07 to 3.00, their average credit card balance dipped more notably, from $6,629 in 2019 to $5,897 in 2021. Finally, the average utilization rate of US consumers had reduced from 30% in 2019 to 26% in 2020, according to the facts about credit scores during Covid.
(Experian)
The average VantageScore of Gen Z Americans in 2020 was 654.
Besides having the lowest credit score, Gen Zers also had the lowest credit card balance of $2,197 during the first year of the pandemic. The average VantageScore of Millennials was only four points higher, at 658, while Gen Xers had a significantly higher average score, at 676. Moreover, Gen X Americans also had the highest average utilization rate, at 32%, and the highest average credit card balance at $7,718. Finally, the average credit score by age during Covid statistics reveal that Baby Boomers had an average VantageScore of 716, while Silent Generation Americans had the highest average of 729. Additionally, the average credit utilization rate of the Radio Babies was the lowest, at only 13%.
(Experian)
The average statewide VantageScore in Minnesota in 2020 was 720.
While Minnesota had the best average credit score during the pandemic, Vermont and South Dakota were tied for second with an average VantageScore of 712, and New Hampshire and Wisconsin were tied for third, with 711. On the other hand, bad credit statistics reveal that Mississippi had the lowest average VantageScore of only 658. Furthermore, Louisiana had an average of 661, Georgia and Alabama had 665, and Texas, with its 666 average, rounds up the bottom five.
(Experian)
General Statistics About Credit Score
46.4% of Americans have either an excellent or a very good FICO credit score.
In addition to the 23.3% of US consumers with excellent credit scores, a 23.1% share of US consumers have a FICO score between 750 and 799. Statistics on credit score distribution show that 16.4% of Americans have a FICO score between 700 and 749, while the FICO score is between 650 and 699 for 12.5% of US consumers. Furthermore, 9.2% have a score between 600 and 649, 7.1% have between 550 and 599, 5.4% have between 500 and 549, and only 3% have the lowest credit scores of between 300 and 499.
(FICO)
US consumers from the 550 to 599 FICO score bracket improved their credit scores by 20 points in 2021.
The statistics show that consumers from the lower range, between 550 and 599, had an average FICO score of 581 in 2020. The average credit score of those consumers increased to 601 in 2021. In comparison, Americans from the 650 to 699 bracket increased their average score by 12 points, from 680 in 2020 to 692 in 2021. On the other hand, consumers from the higher range, between 750 and 799, did not increase their average credit score in 2021 and kept the same as the year before at 778.
(FICO)
The FICO scores of 4.8% of American consumers did not change between 2020 and 2021.
Credit repair statistics reveal that 58% of the US population improved their credit scores in 2021. 15% of the consumers improved their FICO score by between one and nine points, while 12.6% saw an increase between 10 and 19. In addition, 19.2% improved their scores by between 20 and 49 points, and 11.2% had over 50-point improvements. However, another 37% of the consumers also saw their FICO scores dip in 2021. 11.7% of Americans experienced a decrease between one and nine points, while another 8.6% saw their scores drop by between 10 and 19. Bad credit score statistics also show that 11.2% of Americans had their scores reduced by between 20 and 49 points, and 5.6% suffered an over 50-point drop in 2021.
(FICO)
23% of US consumers say they never check their credit scores.
In contrast, 25% of Americans say they last checked their credit score in the previous week, while 27% the previous month. Moreover, 15% of them say they last checked it in the last 30 days and the remaining 10% in the previous year. The credit report facts also show that 38% of Gen Zers never checked their credit scores, while 31% of consumers over the age of 65 checked them in the last week.
(Transunion)
71% of the US consumers who check their score at least monthly say they have control over their finances.
The percentage of people who agree with the above statement drops to 65% for consumers who check their credit scores less frequently and to 54% for those who don’t check them at all. Statistics and facts about credit reports also show that the most common reason people use credit monitoring services is to check if someone else applied for credit using their name, cited by 53% of the consumers. Moreover, 48% of consumers with a credit score of more than 720 say they monitor their scores just to know where is their credit standing. On the other hand, 19% of Americans with scores under 580 monitor their scores to make sure that their upcoming application will go through.
(Transunion)
Credit Score Statistics FAQ
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The Summary
In summary, it is great that the larger half of American consumers improved their credit scores in 2021, but the statistics also show some worrying signs. Despite the large share of consumers with excellent and very good scores and the fact that the average credit score in America is at an all-time high, 37% of consumers still got their scores decreased.
While financial problems might be the main reason for their dip, some of it can be attributed to negligence as well. With 23% of consumers who never check their credit scores, there is definitely room for further improvement and a need for education in credit repair.
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