Average Credit Score in America: 2026 Data by State, Age, and What It Means for Borrowers

The average credit score in America is 713 as of 2026, according to Experian data — a two-point drop from 2024 and the first annual decline in over a decade. Most Americans (70%) still sit in the "good" or better range, but the economic pressures of the past year have quietly pushed more consumers toward the lower end of the scale.

Quick Reference: U.S. Credit Score Snapshot (2026)

Data Point	Figure
National Average FICO Score	713
Year-Over-Year Change	−2 points
Last Annual Decline Before This	2013
% with Good or Better Score (670+)	70%
% in Poor Range (300–579)	14.7%
% in Exceptional Range (800–850)	22.8% (all-time high)
Highest Scoring State	Minnesota (741)
Lowest Scoring State	Mississippi (677)
National Average Credit Utilization	29%

What Is a Credit Score — and Which One Actually Matters?

Most people have heard of a credit score. Fewer know there are two main scoring systems in use, and they don't always produce the same number. That's part of why you'll see slightly different "average" figures quoted across sources.

FICO Score vs. VantageScore — Why the Numbers Sometimes Differ

FICO and VantageScore are both three-digit credit scores ranging from 300 to 850. The difference is in how they weight certain factors. FICO puts heavier emphasis on payment history and amounts owed. VantageScore gives more weight to the age and type of credit you hold.

FICO is used in over 90% of U.S. lending decisions, which is why most credible national average data references FICO. When you see one source report 713 and another report 714, it's usually a matter of different data cuts — different months, different sampling populations, or FICO vs. VantageScore methodology. Neither number is wrong; they're just measuring slightly different things.

In practice, if a lender is reviewing your application, the score they pull is almost certainly a FICO variant.

FICO Score Ranges and What Each Tier Means for Borrowers

Understanding where 713 sits relative to the full range matters more than the number alone. Here's how FICO breaks it down — and what each tier typically means when you apply for credit.

FICO Range	Rating	What Borrowers Typically Experience
300–579	Poor	Loan denials common; secured products only
580–669	Fair	Approval possible at high interest rates
670–739	Good	Most mainstream loans accessible
740–799	Very Good	Competitive rates; strong approval odds
800–850	Exceptional	Best available rates across all loan types

At 713, you're solidly in the "good" range. You'll qualify for most loans. You just won't always get the lowest advertised rate — that tends to go to borrowers above 740.

The Five Factors Behind Your FICO Score

Factor	Weight	What It Reflects
Payment History	35%	On-time vs. missed or late payments
Amounts Owed	30%	Credit utilization across all accounts
Length of Credit History	15%	Age of oldest, newest, and average accounts
Credit Mix	10%	Variety of credit types (cards, loans, mortgage)
New Credit	10%	Recent applications and hard inquiries

Payment history carries the most weight — by a wide margin. One 30-day late payment can move a score meaningfully. That's relevant context when you look at why average scores declined in 2025.

How the National Average Is Calculated

The 713 figure comes from Experian's annual analysis of its consumer credit database, using the FICO Score 8 model and data from September 2025. The September snapshot is a standard measurement point used for year-over-year comparison.

Different months, different bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion), or different FICO model versions can produce slightly different figures — which explains why you'll occasionally see 714 or 715 reported elsewhere for the same general period.

What Is the Average Credit Score in America in 2025?

713 — And Context Matters as Much as the Number

The 713 average is the first decline since 2013. That sounds alarming on paper. In reality, scores have climbed significantly over the past decade — the average sat closer to 695–700 in the mid-2010s. So while the direction changed, the overall credit health of American consumers is still meaningfully better than it was 10 to 15 years ago.

That said, the direction of travel is worth watching.

What Drove the 2025 Score Decline?

A few forces converged in 2025 to put downward pressure on average scores. None of them are surprising on their own — together, they added up.

The end of the SAVE student loan repayment plan was significant. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) income-based repayment plan was effectively suspended in 2025, meaning interest resumed accruing on nearly 8 million accounts.

 Borrowers who had been making manageable income-adjusted payments suddenly faced higher bills — or faced transitioning to a less generous repayment plan entirely.

As reported by CNBC, the resumption of federal student loan delinquency reporting on consumers' credit was identified as a significant contributing factor to declining scores, alongside higher prices and a difficult job market that left millions of Americans making difficult financial decisions.

Beyond student loans, continued inflation meant more households were stretching budgets to cover basics. Mortgage and auto delinquencies both ticked upward. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted that consumers expected a tougher job market and higher prices heading into 2026, and debt delinquency expectations rose to their highest level since the start of the pandemic.

Consumer confidence indexes fell sharply. That matters because how people feel about the economy influences whether they apply for new credit, whether they pay down balances aggressively, and whether they absorb unexpected expenses or put them on a card.

Credit card application rejections hit record highs in 2025. The economy wasn't collapsing — but it wasn't working easily for a significant portion of borrowers either.

How the National Average Has Shifted Over Time

Year	Approximate Average FICO Score
2015	~695
2018	~700
2020	~710
2022	~714
2023	~715
2024	715
2025	713

Note: Figures prior to 2023 are approximate, drawn from Experian's published annual trend reports.

The overall arc is still upward over a decade. The 2025 dip is real, but it's coming off a sustained high — not a collapse.

Distribution of Americans Across Score Ranges (2024 vs. 2025)

What's interesting about 2025 isn't just that the average fell — it's that the distribution pulled apart at the edges.

Score Range	2024	2025	Change
Poor (300–579)	13.2%	14.7%	+1.5%
Fair (580–669)	15.5%	14.9%	−0.6%
Good (670–739)	21.0%	20.1%	−0.9%
Very Good (740–799)	27.8%	27.5%	−0.3%
Exceptional (800–850)	22.5%	22.8%	+0.3%

The poor range grew. The exceptional range hit an all-time high simultaneously. More people slipped down; more people reached the top. The middle thinned out. Economists sometimes call this a K-shaped distribution — and whether or not that label fits the broader economy, it describes what happened to credit scores in 2025 fairly well.

What Does a 713 Average Credit Score Actually Get You?

This is the question most articles skip. The number is useful as a benchmark, but it only means something if you understand what it buys you in the real world.

Loan Approval and Rate Implications by Loan Type

Loan Type	Typical Minimum Score Needed	Where 713 Lands
Conventional Mortgage	620–640	Qualifies comfortably; mid-range rates
FHA Mortgage	500–580	Well above minimum
Auto Loan (new)	600–660	Competitive range; not the lowest rate
Personal Loan	580–640	Qualifies; better rates than fair-credit borrowers
Premium Rewards Card	700–740	On the qualifying edge; approval likely
Best Mortgage Rate Tier	~740+	Just below the top tier

At 713, most doors are open. The frustrating part is that the best rates — particularly on mortgages — typically start at 740 or above. A 27-point gap can translate to a meaningfully different interest rate over a 30-year loan.

In practice, borrowers commonly report that moving from 713 to 740 can reduce a mortgage rate offer by 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points, depending on the lender and market conditions.

How Long Does It Take to Move Between Credit Tiers?

This depends heavily on what caused the score to drop. A single missed payment is different from a pattern of high utilization. That said, commonly observed timelines look like this:

• Poor to Fair (300–579 → 580–669): 12–24 months of consistent on-time payments and reducing balances
• Fair to Good (580–669 → 670–739): 6–18 months, depending on utilization improvement
• Good to Exceptional (670–739 → 800+): Often 2–4 years of clean, consistent history

What's often overlooked is that improving a score isn't just about doing the right things — it's about waiting for negative marks to age. A late payment from two years ago still weighs on your score, even if everything since has been perfect.

Average Credit Score by State (2025)

Credit scores aren't evenly distributed across the country. There's a consistent geographic pattern: the Upper Midwest and New England tend to score highest, while the South — particularly the Deep South — clusters lower.

States with the Highest Average Credit Scores

State	2025 Average	2024 Average	Change
Minnesota	741	742	−1
Vermont	737	737	0
Wisconsin	737	738	−1
New Hampshire	735	736	−1
Washington	734	735	−1

States with the Lowest Average Credit Scores

State	2025 Average	2024 Average	Change
Mississippi	677	680	−3
Louisiana	686	690	−4
Alabama	689	692	−3
Georgia	692	695	−3
Texas	692	695	−3

The 66-point gap between Minnesota and Mississippi is substantial. It's not explained by any single factor, but several contributors are commonly observed across research: median household income levels, cost of living relative to debt loads, regional differences in access to credit products, homeownership rates, and demographic concentrations of younger borrowers — who structurally carry lower scores regardless of financial behavior.

It's worth noting that Louisiana saw the steepest single-year decline in 2025 (four points), alongside Washington D.C. No state saw an increase in average scores.

Full 50-State Average Credit Score Table (2024 vs. 2025)

State	2024	2025	Change
Alaska	722	720	−2
Alabama	692	689	−3
Arkansas	695	693	−2
Arizona	712	709	−3
California	722	721	−1
Colorado	731	729	−2
Connecticut	726	724	−2
D.C.	715	711	−4
Delaware	714	713	−1
Florida	707	704	−3
Georgia	695	692	−3
Hawaii	732	730	−2
Idaho	730	729	−1
Illinois	720	720	0
Indiana	712	710	−2
Iowa	730	728	−2
Kansas	722	720	−2
Kentucky	705	704	−1
Louisiana	690	686	−4
Maine	731	731	0
Maryland	715	714	−1
Massachusetts	732	731	−1
Michigan	719	717	−2
Minnesota	742	741	−1
Mississippi	680	677	−3
Missouri	714	712	−2
Montana	732	730	−2
Nebraska	731	728	−3
Nevada	701	699	−2
New Hampshire	736	735	−1
New Jersey	724	722	−2
New Mexico	702	701	−1
New York	721	719	−2
North Carolina	709	707	−2
North Dakota	733	730	−3
Ohio	716	713	−3
Oklahoma	696	693	−3
Oregon	732	730	−2
Pennsylvania	722	720	−2
Rhode Island	721	719	−2
South Carolina	700	699	−1
South Dakota	734	731	−3
Tennessee	706	703	−3
Texas	695	692	−3
Utah	730	728	−2
Vermont	737	737	0
Virginia	723	721	−2
Washington	735	734	−1
West Virginia	702	699	−3
Wisconsin	738	737	−1
Wyoming	725	722	−3

Source: Experian data, September of each year

Average Credit Score by Age and Generation (2025)

One of the more consistent patterns in credit data is that scores tend to rise with age. This isn't entirely about financial behavior — it's partly structural. Credit history length accounts for 15% of a FICO score, and older consumers simply have more of it. A 55-year-old with a 30-year credit history has an advantage a 25-year-old can't manufacture quickly.

Average FICO Score by Generation (2024 vs. 2025)

Generation	Age in 2025	2024 Score	2025 Score	Change
Generation Z	18–28	681	678	−3
Millennials	29–44	691	689	−2
Generation X	45–60	709	709	0
Baby Boomers	61–79	746	747	+1
Silent Generation	80+	760	760	0

Baby boomers improved. The Silent Generation held steady. Everyone younger either held flat or declined. The pattern reflects something real: older consumers are more likely to have paid-off mortgages, lower debt obligations, and fewer financial shocks relative to their asset base.

Why Gen Z and Millennials Were Hit Hardest

The SAVE plan's suspension hit younger borrowers hardest. These two generations carry the majority of outstanding federal student loan balances. When SAVE ended, roughly 8 million borrowers needed to move to a different income-based repayment plan — one with higher monthly payments and a less forgiving interest structure.

Add to that: younger borrowers are more likely to be renting in a high-cost environment, more likely to have variable-rate debt, and less likely to have savings or home equity to absorb a financial shock. When something goes wrong — a job change, a medical bill, an unexpected expense — the margin is thinner.

At first glance, a 678 average for Gen Z looks discouraging. But in context, that's a generation building credit in a difficult economic environment, and these averages still sit in the fair-to-good range. The trajectory from their mid-20s into their 30s will matter more than the current snapshot.

Average Credit Score by Decade of Life

Age Range	Approximate Average Score
20s	662–678
30s	672–689
40s	684–709
50s	~706
60 and above	747–749

These ranges blend generational data with decade-based averages from multiple sources. Use them as general benchmarks, not precise targets.

Average Credit Utilization in America (2026)

Credit utilization — how much of your available revolving credit you're using — is the second biggest factor in your FICO score at 30%. The national average held steady at 29% across 2023, 2024, and 2025.

What Stable Utilization Tells Us

This is actually meaningful context for interpreting the score decline. If overuse of existing credit were the primary driver of falling scores, you'd expect utilization to have risen. It didn't. That points toward payment history — missed mortgage and auto payments specifically — as a bigger contributor to the 2025 decline.

Credit Utilization by FICO Score Range (2026)

FICO Score Range	Average Utilization
Poor (300–579)	79%
Fair (580–669)	61%
Good (670–739)	39%
Very Good (740–799)	15%
Exceptional (800–850)	7%

The pattern here is striking. Consumers in the exceptional range aren't just keeping utilization under 30% — they're averaging 7%. That's not accidental. It reflects a habit of paying balances in full or close to it each month, which keeps reported utilization low even with active card use.

Delinquency Rates by Account Type (2023–2025)

Delinquency rates measure the share of accounts with payments 30 or more days late. They're a leading indicator of where credit scores are heading — when delinquencies rise, score declines typically follow.

According to data from Bloomberg, delinquency rates across U.S. household debt rose to their highest level since 2017 by late 2025, driven largely by higher defaults among low-income and younger borrowers — a trend that aligns directly with what the Experian account-level data shows.

Account Type	2023	2024	2025	Direction
Credit Card	2.45%	2.40%	2.31%	Improving
Mortgage	1.88%	2.24%	2.45%	Worsening
Auto Loans	3.51%	3.68%	3.78%	Worsening
Personal Loans	3.89%	3.86%	3.76%	Improving

Source: Experian data, September of each year

Mortgage and auto delinquencies moved in the wrong direction in 2025. Both are large, payment-history-heavy debts. A missed mortgage payment carries significant weight in a FICO score. The fact that these delinquency rates climbed — even modestly — helps explain why national average scores fell despite stable utilization rates.

Credit card and personal loan delinquencies actually improved slightly, which suggests the credit card management habits of most borrowers held reasonably well through the year.

How to Improve Your Credit Score Above the National Average

Getting above 713 isn't complicated. Staying there consistently is the harder part.

Pay on Time — Every Time

Payment history is 35% of your score. One 30-day late payment can drop a good score by 60–100 points depending on your profile. Setting up autopay for at least the minimum payment on every account removes the risk of forgetting.

In practice, most people who improve their scores significantly over 12–24 months do it primarily through payment consistency — not through any clever strategy.

Keep Utilization Below 30% — Aim Lower if You Can

The 30% guideline is widely cited, and it's a reasonable floor. But the utilization data by score range tells a clearer story: exceptional-score borrowers average 7%.

If you want to get meaningfully above the national average, keeping utilization under 10–15% on your revolving accounts is a more realistic target than just staying under 30%.

Keep Old Accounts Open

Closing a credit card you no longer use reduces your total available credit and can increase your utilization ratio. It also potentially shortens the average age of your accounts. Unless there's a compelling reason — like a significant annual fee with no offsetting value — leaving old accounts open and occasionally using them costs nothing and preserves the credit history you've built.

Avoid Unnecessary Hard Inquiries

Each new credit application typically triggers a hard inquiry, which can knock a few points off your score temporarily. Multiple applications in a short window compound the impact. The exception: rate shopping for a mortgage or auto loan within a 14–45 day window is generally treated as a single inquiry by most FICO scoring models.

Check Your Credit Report for Errors

Errors on credit reports are more common than most people expect. A payment marked late that was actually on time, an account that belongs to someone else, or a debt that has already been resolved can all drag down your score without your knowledge.

Under federal law, you're entitled to free annual credit reports from all three bureaus at

AnnualCreditReport.com. Reviewing yours once a year and disputing inaccuracies is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort things you can do for your credit profile.

For detailed scoring methodology and score range guidance, FICO's official website provides model-level documentation for consumers.

Conclusion

The average credit score in America is 713 in 2025 — still in the good range, but declining for the first time in over a decade. Economic pressure, rising mortgage delinquencies, and the SAVE student loan plan's end all played a role. Most Americans remain in workable credit territory. Knowing where you stand against these benchmarks is the first step toward improving it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 713 a Good Credit Score?

Yes. A 713 FICO score falls in the "good" range (670–739). It qualifies for most loans and credit products, though the lowest advertised rates typically go to borrowers at 740 or above.

Why Did the Average Credit Score Drop in 2025?

Rising mortgage and auto delinquencies, the end of the SAVE student loan repayment plan, persistent inflation, and record-high credit application rejection rates all contributed to the two-point decline.

What Credit Score Do I Need for a Mortgage?

Conventional mortgages typically require a minimum score of 620–640. FHA loans can go as low as 500–580. The best mortgage rates, however, generally go to borrowers at 740 or higher.

Why Do Some States Have Higher Credit Scores Than Others?

No single cause explains it fully, but commonly observed factors include median income levels, cost of living relative to debt loads, regional credit access, homeownership rates, and demographic age distribution differences across states.

How Long Does It Take to Improve a Poor Credit Score?

Moving from poor (under 579) to fair typically takes 12–24 months of consistent on-time payments and utilization reduction. Fair to good can take 6–18 months. Reaching exceptional (800+) from good often requires 2–4 years of sustained clean history.