How Does Your Credit Score Compare to Other Americans?

Your credit score is the number that lenders and creditors typically use to determine your eligibility for financial products and services. If you have a better credit score, you’re more likely to qualify for loans and credit cards and have access to better interest rates. You might even pay less for insurance.

Your credit score may have a significant impact on your ability to meet financial goals like going to college or buying a home, so it’s vital to know not just your score, but how strong it is compared to other potential borrowers. You should check your credit score regularly to monitor updates, and you can compare them to these average credit scores across ages and states.

What is the average credit score?

Credit scores are a three-digit number between 300 and 850. According to the latest FICO data, the average credit score in America is 717. That falls in the “good” range of FICO’s scoring categories:

• Very poor: 300-579
• Poor: 580-600
• Fair: 601-660
• Good: 670-739
• Very good: 740-799
• Exceptional: 800-850

Credit scores may vary significantly by age and location, however.

What is the average credit score by age?

Credit scores are calculated based on payment history and length of credit history among other factors, which is why older people tend to have higher credit scores than young people. They simply have a more documented history of repaying debt. The most recent data from Experian reports the following average credit scores among age groups:

What is the average credit score by state?

Experian’s data also accounts for average credit scores across states. Financial health varies significantly between states, and that’s visible in a deep disparity between credit scores. For instance, Minnesota has the highest average credit score at 742, while Mississippi has the lowest average credit score at 680.

Scores are calculated and assessed the same way regardless of location. Some states have a lower average credit score than others due to residents’ financial habits and health.

While lenders don’t compare you to other borrowers when deciding whether or not to approve your loan, it’s helpful to know average credit scores to understand the data that lenders use to set their loan application approval criteria. A borrower with a 700 credit score in Mississippi, for instance, may get better interest rates in that state than if they were applying for a loan in Massachusetts.

How to build your credit score

If you check your credit score and it’s below average or just not quite as high as you like, there are ways to improve your credit. Some of the best ways to do so include:

• Making on-time payments: The simplest way to improve your credit is to pay all of your loans, bills, and credit card statements on time and in full.
• Pay off debt: If you can prioritize certain debts to pay them off or bring past due accounts current, it can help your score.
• Avoid applying for new credit: Opening several new credit accounts in a short period of time can hurt your credit score as it shows you may have new debt that you haven’t yet proven you can pay.
• Keep unused accounts open: Closed credit accounts can hurt your credit score.
• Consider being an authorized user: One of the best ways for young people to build credit is by being added as an authorized user on a credit card account managed by a financially responsible parent. It’s also a good way for someone with bad credit to start building their own credit off of a primary user’s responsible card use.

Most importantly, continue to check your credit score and credit report regularly. This is the best way to ensure that all information is accurate and detect fraud and inconsistencies before they can seriously impact your credit score. You can check your credit score for free using tools like AnnualCreditReport.com and online services from the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.