The average credit score in America is 713 as of September 2025, according to Experian's FICO Score 8 data.
That marks a two-point drop from 715 in 2024 the first annual decline since 2013. Despite the dip, 713 still sits in the "Good" range, and most Americans remain acceptable credit risks to lenders.
What Is the Average Credit Score in America Right Now?
|
Year |
National Average FICO Score |
Change |
|
2023 |
715 |
— |
|
2024 |
715 |
No change |
|
2025 |
713 |
−2 points |
Source: Experian FICO Score 8 data, September of each year
A score of 713 falls squarely in the "Good" tier not exceptional, but enough to qualify for most standard loan products. About 70% of Americans hold a score of 670 or above.
The share of consumers in the "Poor" range (300–579) grew from 13.2% to 14.7%, while those in the "Exceptional" range (800–850) reached an all-time high of 22.8%.
In practice, credit professionals commonly note that a small shift in the national average two points in this case rarely signals widespread financial distress on its own. What matters more is the direction of delinquency rates and the distribution across score tiers.
FICO Score vs. VantageScore — Which One Is the 713 Based On?
This is something most articles gloss over. The 713 national average is a FICO Score 8 figure. That matters because two major credit scoring models exist, and they are not identical.
|
Feature |
FICO Score 8 |
VantageScore 3.0 |
|
Score Range |
300–850 |
300–850 |
|
Poor |
300–579 |
300–600 |
|
Fair |
580–669 |
601–660 |
|
Good |
670–739 |
661–780 |
|
Very Good |
740–799 |
N/A (merged into Good) |
|
Exceptional / Excellent |
800–850 |
781–850 |
|
Most Used By |
Mortgage, auto, and bank lenders |
Free credit monitoring tools |
Source: FICO, VantageScore Solutions
Most banks and lenders pull FICO scores when you apply for a loan or credit card.VantageScore is what many free tools Chase Credit Journey, Credit Karma display.
A 713 on FICO is "Good." That same number on VantageScore also falls in the "Good" band, but the tier boundaries differ slightly.
What's often overlooked is that you don't have just one credit score. You have dozens. Lenders choose which model and version to use, and that choice can shift your apparent score by a few points in either direction.
Much like understanding how tiered systems rank and separate categories, knowing which scoring model applies to your situation changes how you read the number entirely.
Average Credit Score by Age in America
Scores tend to rise with age. That's not because older people are better with money by nature it's more mechanical than that.
Length of credit history accounts for 15% of a FICO score, and credit mix builds up naturally over decades of car loans, mortgages, and credit cards.
Average FICO Score by Generation — 2025 vs. 2026
|
Generation |
Age Range |
2025 Average |
2026 Average |
Change |
|
Generation Z |
18–28 |
681 |
678 |
−3 points |
|
Millennials |
29–44 |
691 |
689 |
−2 points |
|
Generation X |
45–60 |
709 |
709 |
No change |
|
Baby Boomers |
61–79 |
746 |
747 |
+1 point |
|
Silent Generation |
80+ |
760 |
760 |
No change |
Average Credit Score by Age Decade
|
Age Group |
Approximate Average Score |
|
20s |
~662 |
|
30s |
~672 |
|
40s |
~684 |
|
50s |
~706 |
|
60s and above |
~749 |
Source: General industry figures; approximate
Younger generations took the hardest hit in 2026. Gen Z dropped three points; Millennials dropped two. Both groups carry more student debt than older generations and are less likely to have home equity or savings to absorb financial shocks.
As reported by Fortune, around 2 million student loan borrowers who faced delinquency saw an average 100-point drop in their credit scores — a decline severe enough to push many out of prime borrowing status entirely.
Baby boomers, interestingly, held steady or improved. Paid-down mortgages, fewer active credit lines, and decades of on-time payments make their credit profiles naturally more resilient to short-term economic pressure.
Understanding how accumulated financial decisions shape long-term outcomes similar to how personal wealth builds over time through consistent choices helps explain why older generations tend to hold stronger credit positions.
Average Credit Score by State
No state saw its average credit score increase in 2026. Three states — Illinois, Maine, and Vermont held flat. Every other state declined.
Highest average: Vermont — 737 Lowest average: Mississippi — 677 Steepest declines:
Louisiana and Washington D.C. — both dropped 4 points
|
State |
2025 Average |
2026 Average |
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 |
|
District of Columbia |
715 |
711 |
−4 |
|
Delaware |
714 |
713 |
−1 |
|
Florida |
707 |
704 |
−3 |
|
Georgia |
695 |
692 |
−3 |
|
Hawaii |
732 |
730 |
−2 |
|
Iowa |
730 |
728 |
−2 |
|
Idaho |
730 |
729 |
−1 |
|
Illinois |
720 |
720 |
0 |
|
Indiana |
712 |
710 |
−2 |
|
Kansas |
722 |
720 |
−2 |
|
Kentucky |
705 |
704 |
−1 |
|
Louisiana |
690 |
686 |
−4 |
|
Massachusetts |
732 |
731 |
−1 |
|
Maryland |
715 |
714 |
−1 |
|
Maine |
731 |
731 |
0 |
|
Michigan |
719 |
717 |
−2 |
|
Minnesota |
742 |
741 |
−1 |
|
Missouri |
714 |
712 |
−2 |
|
Mississippi |
680 |
677 |
−3 |
|
Montana |
732 |
730 |
−2 |
|
North Carolina |
709 |
707 |
−2 |
|
North Dakota |
733 |
730 |
−3 |
|
Nebraska |
731 |
728 |
−3 |
|
New Hampshire |
736 |
735 |
−1 |
|
New Jersey |
724 |
722 |
−2 |
|
New Mexico |
702 |
701 |
−1 |
|
Nevada |
701 |
699 |
−2 |
|
New York |
721 |
719 |
−2 |
|
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 |
|
Virginia |
723 |
721 |
−2 |
|
Vermont |
737 |
737 |
0 |
|
Washington |
735 |
734 |
−1 |
|
Wisconsin |
738 |
737 |
−1 |
|
West Virginia |
702 |
699 |
−3 |
|
Wyoming |
725 |
722 |
−3 |
The uniformity of declines across states regardless of region, economy, or political makeup suggests the forces pulling scores down are national in nature, not local. Inflation, rising unemployment, and tighter lending conditions don't respect state borders.
Also Read: Who Owns Gamersupps
How Are American Credit Scores Distributed?
Not all Americans cluster around the 713 average the spread across score tiers tells a more layered story than a single number can.
Percentage of Americans by FICO Score Range — 2025 vs. 2026
|
Score Range |
Rating |
2025 |
2026 |
|
300–579 |
Poor |
13.2% |
14.7% |
|
580–669 |
Fair |
15.5% |
14.9% |
|
670–739 |
Good |
21.0% |
20.1% |
|
740–799 |
Very Good |
27.8% |
27.5% |
|
800–850 |
Exceptional |
22.5% |
22.8% |
At first glance, these shifts look minor. But they tell an interesting story. The middle tiers Fair, Good, and Very Good all shrank slightly. Meanwhile, both extremes grew. More Americans moved into the Poor range, and more reached Exceptional.
Whether that reflects growing financial inequality or a coincidence of timing is hard to say definitively. What the data does confirm: the score distribution is pulling apart at both ends, not just declining uniformly.
What Factors Determine Your Credit Score?
Five specific inputs feed into every FICO score and they do not carry equal weight.
FICO Score Factors and Their Weight
|
Factor |
Weight |
What It Measures |
|
Payment History |
35% |
On-time vs. missed payments |
|
Amounts Owed |
30% |
Balances relative to credit limits |
|
Length of Credit History |
15% |
Age of oldest and newest accounts |
|
Credit Mix |
10% |
Variety of account types |
|
New Credit |
10% |
Recent applications and hard inquiries |
Payment history is the single biggest factor by a wide margin. One missed payment can leave a mark that takes months to fade.
Credit professionals commonly observe that borrowers who dispute score drops are often surprised to find a single 30-day-late payment sitting quietly in their history from years back.
Credit Utilization — The Most Actionable Number
The national average credit utilization rate held steady at 29% in 2025 unchanged for three consecutive years. That rules out overuse of credit cards as a primary driver of the score decline.
|
FICO Score Range |
Average Utilization Rate |
|
Poor (300–579) |
79% |
|
Fair (580–669) |
61% |
|
Good (670–739) |
39% |
|
Very Good (740–799) |
15% |
|
Exceptional (800–850) |
7% |
The 30% threshold gets repeated everywhere as the safe ceiling. That's accurate but incomplete. Consumers with Exceptional scores average just 7% utilization.
In practice, staying under 10% on each individual card tends to produce better results than simply staying under 30% across all cards combined.
Why Did the Average Credit Score in America Drop?
A few converging factors not a single cause.Unemployment rose from historically low levels, and delinquency rates followed.
As reported by CNBC, high interest rates and higher prices have been a persistent drag on many Americans' financial standing, with consumers falling deeper into debt and missing payments at rising rates throughout.
The ending of the SAVE student loan repayment plan pushed monthly payments higher for nearly 8 million borrowers predominantly Gen Z and Millennials. Higher shelter costs and persistent inflation on essential expenses added further strain.
What did not drive the decline: credit card overuse. Utilization stayed flat at 29%.
Delinquency Rates by Account Type — 2023 to 2025
|
Account Type |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Credit Card |
2.45% |
2.40% |
2.31% |
|
Mortgage |
1.88% |
2.24% |
2.45% |
|
Auto Loans |
3.51% |
3.68% |
3.78% |
|
Personal Loans (Unsecured) |
3.89% |
3.86% |
3.76% |
Mortgage and auto loan delinquencies climbed. Credit card and personal loan delinquencies slightly improved possibly because many borrowers refinanced high-interest card debt into personal loans and HELOCs at lower rates.
What Does Your Credit Score Mean for Borrowing?
Where your score lands on the range directly affects what loans you can access and what those loans will actually cost you.
Typical Minimum Credit Score by Loan Type
|
Loan Type |
Typical Minimum Score |
Notes |
|
Conventional Mortgage |
620–640 |
Higher scores unlock better rates |
|
FHA Mortgage |
500–580 |
3.5% down payment requires 580+ |
|
Auto Loan |
600–660 |
Subprime options exist below 600 |
|
Personal Loan |
580–640 |
Varies significantly by lender |
|
Credit Card (standard) |
580–670 |
Secured cards available below 580 |
These are general industry ranges. Individual lenders set their own minimums and adjust rates based on full credit profile.
A 713 score is enough to qualify for most of these products. But qualifying and getting a competitive rate are two different things.
The difference between a 680 and a 760 score on a 30-year mortgage can translate to a meaningfully higher monthly payment over the life of the loan not because of the score itself, but because of the interest rate tier it unlocks.
Just as ownership structures determine how a business operates and profits, your credit tier determines what financial products you can realistically access and at what cost.
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Each of the five FICO factors gives you a specific lever to pull.Pay on time, every time. At 35% of your score, this matters most.
Automating minimum payments eliminates the risk of forgetting. Even one 30-day late payment can drop a score noticeably.
Bring balances down. Especially on revolving credit cards. Under 30% is the commonly cited threshold under 10% per card is where the real improvement tends to show up.
Keep old accounts open. Closing an old card shortens your average account age and reduces total available credit. Both can nudge your score downward.
Avoid clustering new applications. Each hard inquiry causes a small, temporary dip. Multiple applications in a short window compound that effect.
Be patient with credit mix. This factor improves naturally as life progresses car loans, mortgages, and personal loans added over time round out a credit profile without requiring deliberate action.
On the timeline question: utilization improvements can appear within one to two billing cycles. Rebuilding after missed payments or collections takes 12 to 24 months of consistent behavior at minimum. Negative marks generally stay on a credit report for up to seven years.
Conclusion
The average credit score in America is 713 still "Good," but declining for the first time in over a decade. Economic pressure, not reckless borrowing, is the primary driver.
Payment history and utilization remain the two most controllable factors for any borrower looking to improve their position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average credit score in America ?
The national average is 713, based on Experian's FICO Score 8 data from September 2025. It dropped two points from 2024 the first annual decline since 2013.
Is 700 a good credit score in America?
Yes. A score of 700 falls in the "Good" tier (670–739) and sits above the national average. Most standard loan products are accessible at this level, though top interest rate tiers typically require 740 or above.
What percentage of Americans have exceptional credit?
As of September 2025, 22.8% of Americans have an Exceptional score (800–850) — an all-time high, according to Experian data.
Does age directly affect your credit score?
No. Age itself is not a scored factor. But older consumers tend to have longer credit histories and more diverse credit types, both of which contribute positively to FICO scores over time.
What is the lowest average credit score by state?
Mississippi had the lowest state average in 2025 at 677, according to Experian's September 2025 data.
