Average Credit Score in America (2025)

Credit scores are increasingly on the minds of Americans as they acclimate themselves to shifting economic policies in 2025. That’s fortunate, because a good score can be a key to financial well-being.

Here’s why. The three major U.S. credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — constantly track your borrowing and repayment activities. They use credit scoring models like FICO and VantageScore to calculate three-digit scores based on your past behavior with creditors.

FICO and VantageScore both use a scoring range from 300 to 850. Your scores are high if you use credit responsibly and pay back your loans on time. But if you fail to keep your accounts in good standing, the bureaus notice, your scores decrease, and future loans cost more.

The problem is that Americans are overusing credit. Several interconnected economic factors — including inflation and rising interest rates, but also demand for goods and services that may be stronger than consumers’ ability to pay — are putting unprecedented pressure on the lending market.

For evidence, look no further than the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, which reported U.S. total credit card debt at $1.18 trillion in Q1 2025.¹ While that total was down slightly from the Q4 2024 all-time high of $1.21 trillion, it’s up 6% year over year, indicating credit card debt is rising faster than inflation.

Meanwhile, the percentage of seriously delinquent credit card accounts — those 90 days or more past due — now stands at 7.04%, reflecting increasing financial strain for many households.

Another pressure point comes from the radical changes in the federal student loan system that have come into effect since President Trump’s return.

The government had paused student loan payments in 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit during the president’s first term. Now, the pauses have ended and payment obligations have resumed. Millions of borrowers who have failed to resume payments are now delinquent.

Let’s examine the numbers by breaking them down according to demographic and other factors. In addition to learning where you may rank, you’ll pick up pointers on how to improve your scores.

With numbers for total credit card debt and delinquencies scraping the stratosphere, credit scores, unsurprisingly, are suffering.

In fact, the average FICO score has decreased to 715 as of February 2025 — down from an all-time high of 718 in April 2024 and the first time FICO scores have trended appreciably downward over a decade.²

Let’s explain the business relationships around FICO scores before we go further. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion actually license various FICO scoring models from a company called FICO. They earn revenue by selling credit reports to lenders, who then use those three-digit numbers to determine how much interest to charge you for a loan.

FICO was originally known as Fair, Isaac and Company because its founders were Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. So what about VantageScores? Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion banded together to devise VantageScores as a rival to the FICO model.

FICO scores are more widely known and used, so we’ll focus on them here. As for the dip in scores, FICO attributes this unfortunate change in direction to those student loans we talked about earlier.

Although payments resumed in October 2023 during the Biden administration, the rules allowed loan servicers to delay reporting late payments to the bureaus for a year. Now that the bureaus know the status of millions of delinquent accounts, the ripple effect is huge.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of U.S. consumers have a rough idea of their credit score, according to a 2024 Experian survey.³ If you’re in that group, you’ll gain context to measure your performance against others.

Either way, we bet you’ll be inspired to improve. Now, let’s probe the details behind the FICO score downturn.

A big part of the journey of life is your financial journey. As we progress from childhood to adulthood, we achieve independence to make financial decisions and achieve our life goals.

Research suggests that children who learn healthy money habits are more likely to report a sense of financial well-being as adults.⁴ But once we achieve adult financial independence, there’s no one around to prevent us from making mistakes if we’re determined to make them.

That accounts for some of the variation we see in assessing average FICO scores by generation. But people also have different financial needs at different life stages.

Older Americans, including members of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) and Baby Boomers (1946-64), are largely past their peak earning and borrowing years, often focusing more on retirement income and preserving wealth.

Members of Generation X (1965-80) and Millennials (1981-96), by contrast, are in the thick of their prime spending and borrowing years — buying homes, raising families, and managing major expenses — while Gen Zers (1997-2012) are just beginning to build credit and take on adult financial responsibilities.

According to an analysis by Experian, aging out of prime life responsibilities can be a positive credit score driver — members of the Silent Generation (760) and Baby Boomers (746) have much higher average scores than any other generation. The scores of Millennials (691) and Gen Xers (709) suggest they’re still in the throes of the current battle against inflation and the rising cost of living.³

Along with Gen Z members, Millennials and Gen Xers are also more likely to carry student loan debt than their older peers, putting further pressure on their FICO scores. Finally, the lower scores of Generation Z members may reflect limited credit histories and thinner credit files rather than a higher generational tendency toward irresponsible borrowing.

There isn’t much data on credit score differences between American men and women, largely because federal law prohibits the use of demographic data in determining creditworthiness.

A Federal Reserve study from 2018 found little impact of gender on VantageScores (not FICO scores), although the average man’s score was slightly higher than the average woman’s. According to a Bankrate article citing the Fed study, those small differences have likely remained unchanged.⁵

However, the Bankrate article highlighted significant gender-based differences in financial metrics associated with building a good credit score. For example, full-time female workers earned only an average of 82.7% of what men earned in 2023, down from 84% in 2022.

Other data cited in the Bankrate article showed that young single men spend more on food, transportation, and entertainment than young single women. Men also carry significantly more auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, and personal debt than women.

The only debt category where women led was student loans. That metric is consistent with the fact that more women than men pursue higher education.

We face a similar challenge with financial data on racial differences as we do with gender — detailed, up-to-date information is scarce due to a growing reluctance to collect or emphasize demographic specifics.

Experts widely regard the Federal Reserve’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) as the best public source for detailed, comprehensive data on racial differences in wealth (including assets, debts, income, and credit).

A 2023 Fed report citing the most recent SCF data shows significant racial disparities in median wealth numbers. While Black and Hispanic families experienced higher percentage increases in wealth than White families between 2019 and 2022, absolute dollar-value differences increased by approximately $50,000, reaching over $220,000.⁶

A 2024 research paper by the Financial Health Network (FHN) provides one of the most thorough recent explanations of how these persistent structural inequalities in access to financial services translate into racial differences in credit scores.⁷

Pulling together data from several sources, FHN reports that Asian consumers have the highest average credit scores (774), followed by White consumers (729), Hispanic consumers (702), and Black consumers (643).

FHN also found that 39% of Black consumers had a credit score in the subprime range — compared to 21% of Hispanic consumers and 14% of White consumers. Meanwhile, White consumers were more than three times more likely than Black consumers to have a super-prime credit score, which provides access to the most favorable credit terms.

An analysis by the Urban Institute, a leading nonprofit focused on social and economic policy research, was the source of some of the FHN data.⁸ In addition to differentiating between White, Hispanic, and Black consumers, the Urban Institute also identified Native American consumers as having the lowest median credit scores in the study.

As with gender and race, income is not a factor in calculating credit scores. With definitive data associating scores with income levels becoming rarer, multiple publishers tend to rely on the same data.

For example, recent articles by the credit card network American Express and the financial and investing advice company rely on the data from the Federal Reserve to chart the consistent rise in credit scores that occurs along with an increase in income.^9,10

Both find consumers in the low-income quartile with an average credit score of 658, while those in the moderate-income quartile had an average score of 692, those in the middle-income quartile had an average score of 735, and those in the high-income quartile had an average of 774.

This is a circumstance where data reinforces common sense, which tells you that even if you don’t believe money can buy happiness, it’s hard to refute the notion that having more of it is better than having less.

As for why higher-earning households have higher credit scores, it’s because they have a greater ability to pay credit cards in full from month to month rather than carry a revolving balance.

Plus, the credit they carry is cheaper than the credit those with lower incomes are eligible for. When they decide to pay interest on a revolving balance, they may be more likely to do so out of a desire for convenience rather than necessity.

Having a high income tends to compound financial advantages for high earners, while having a lower income tends to compound financial disadvantages for lower earners.

So far, we’ve talked about the impact of demographic factors, including age, gender, and race, on credit score group differences and assessed the impact of income on score levels.

In the America of 2025, individuals have a great deal of control over their economic attainment in terms of their legal right to equal education, training, and opportunity. That said, a person’s demographic status can help determine their financial status, including their statistical potential to achieve.

That’s especially true when it comes to the reality that where you live can influence your credit score. Differences in average credit scores by state tell a story of different historical trajectories among regions and populations.

Examining these state trends in detail is a study by the credit-building solutions provider Self Financial, Inc., based on data from Experian.^3,11

Although the correlations are by no means perfect, Self and Experian show that states with high average credit scores tend to have lower average credit card balances and higher median individual incomes:

Interestingly, Minnesota has the highest average credit score in the U.S., according to the data, but its median individual income of $37,500 is the lowest among the states.

Meanwhile, Mississippi — next to Minnesota on an alphabetical list of states — has the lowest average credit score, at 680. But Mississippi’s median individual income is almost $7,000 higher.

It’s always good advice to control the controllables, and there’s a lot you can do to boost your credit score through responsible credit use.

The good news is that credit card companies want your business. With careful planning and diligent execution, you can definitely improve your credit score and take advantage of those compounding advantages we referred to earlier.

That’s true no matter where your starting point, and the results are well worth it. Higher credit scores lead to lower-cost credit, which leads to more opportunity to utilize credit productively to achieve your financial goals.

Here are some tried-and-true strategies to help you boost your credit score and reap the rewards:

1. Understand the Components of Your Credit Score

We talked about how the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — license the FICO scoring model from a private company and how they also work with each other to produce a rival credit scoring model known as VantageScore.

The first thing you need to understand about your score is what goes into it. The popular and widely utilized FICO model calculates your three-digit FICO score according to the following criteria:

In general, you’re a good credit risk if you pay off your accounts, maintain low balances, and otherwise project an aura of responsibility.

2. Check Your Credit Reports

Another early step in improving your credit score is understanding your starting point. The best way to do that is through AnnualCreditReport.com, a website the three credit bureaus maintain to give all financial consumers equal access to their credit reports, every week.

That means you don’t need to obtain a doctorate in mathematics to calculate your scores. Instead, you can review fresh versions of your credit reports anytime to detect errors and signs of fraudulent activity.

It’s also remarkably easy to bring those discrepancies to the bureaus’ attention. Disputing any errors you find on your credit reports will help you establish a solid credit reputation for the future.

3. Don’t Close Your Old Accounts

If you’re looking to make a fresh start in building your credit, it can be tempting to close the door on the past by closing your old credit accounts. Don’t do it.

Instead, understand that maintaining old credit accounts can work in your favor by lengthening your credit history, even if they’re paid in full and you no longer use them. An even better idea is to preserve access to your little-used cards by assigning minor recurring subscription payments to them.

4. Don’t Apply for New Credit Accounts

The fourth strategy on this list goes hand-in-hand with the third: Don’t open a new line of credit unless you have to.

We’ve seen that merely applying for a new account can affect your score. Plus, adding a new account decreases the length of your overall credit history.

Applying for credit is a balancing act. You want to build to the point where things work like clockwork without much change. That signals to the card companies that you’re a great potential customer.

5. Keep Your Credit Utilization Rate Under 30%

Your credit utilization rate equals the dollar amount of revolving credit you’re using divided by the total amount of credit available to you. Keeping your credit utilization under 30% signals to lenders that you’re a responsible borrower, only using the amount of credit you need.

Follow one of two approaches to keep your credit utilization under that benchmark. The best idea is always to monitor our usage to keep yourself under the limit.

But life happens, and if you absolutely have to increase the amount of debt you’re carrying, it’s probably a good idea to talk about it with your creditor first. You might be surprised how readily your card company will increase your credit limit to keep you under that magic 30% rate.

It’s not a good idea, though, because then you’re setting yourself up for even more debt in the future. It depends on how well you feel you can control the pressures of the outside world and your response to them.

6. Make Payments on Time

Get into the habit of paying credit card balances in full each month. It’s as simple as that!

Reconsider whether you should purchase an item on credit if you don’t believe you’ll be able to pay it off within a reasonable length of time. Not only do late payments damage your credit score, credit card interest rates can cause balances that aren’t paid in full to balloon faster than you may anticipate.

Improving your credit score takes discipline and patience — it isn’t something you should expect will happen overnight.

But the end result is well worth it. Taking charge of your credit score and boosting your creditworthiness will open doors to a brighter financial future.

The main findings of this data are:

• The average FICO score in America is 715, with scores trending downward due to credit overutilization.
• Older Americans have higher credit scores, with the oldest Americans, members of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945), ranking highest in average credit score at 760.
• Gender has little impact on credit scores, but significant gender-based income, spending, and borrowing patterns exist.
• Definitive data is relatively scarce, but credit score disparities according to race tend to mirror race-based disparities in household income.
• Credit score attainment correlates with income level, with U.S. earners in the highest quartile almost 120 points above those in the lowest quartile.
• Minnesota has the highest average credit score among U.S.states at 742 (but the lowest median individual income of all states), while Mississippi has the lowest average credit score at 680.

¹ https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc
² https://www.fico.com/blogs/student-loan-delinquencies-lower-average-fico-score-715
³ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-the-average-credit-score-in-the-u-s
⁴ https://financialliteracy.champlain.edu/report-cards/2023-national-report-card-on-high-school-financial-literacy
⁵ https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/debt/men-women-and-debt-does-gender-matter
⁶ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/greater-wealth-greater-uncertainty-changes-in-racial-inequality-in-the-survey-of-consumer-finances-20231018.html
⁷ https://finhealthnetwork.org/research/pulse-points-disparities-in-credit-scores-and-length-of-credit-history
⁸ https://apps.urban.org/features/credit-health-during-pandemic
⁹ https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/credit-cards/credit-intel/credit-score-by-age-state
¹⁰ https://www.fool.com/money/research/average-credit-score
¹¹ https://www.self.inc/info/average-credit-score-by-state-city