How do I find out the Average Credit Score by Age, State, and Income?
“We need credit to do anything nowadays, to buy a phone, get PG&E, a car.”
Fredrika, a 33-year-old mom living in East Oakland, sums things up well. From [renting an apartment] to [getting a car loan] or even applying for a job, credit is important in almost every part of your life.
Everyone’s situation is different, but whether you’re a 33-year-old mom in Oakland, a 45-year-old dad in Nashville, or a 21-year-old student, your credit matters, especially at pivotal points in your life, like when making big purchases.
“Kikoff helped me build my credit, but they also help[ed] me understand credit.”
To figure out how to build your credit and improve your credit score, you have to know where you stand. Let’s figure out if you’re ahead, on track, or a little behind in your credit journey based on age, state, and income.
What is the average credit score by age group?
The two main credit scores, FICO and VantageScore, start at 300 and go all the way up to 850, with different rungs up the ladder.
Here is how the different rankings break down.
FICO score ranges:
- Below 580: poor
- 580 to 669: fair
- 670 to 739: good
- 740 to 799: very good
- 800 and above: Exceptional
VantageScore ranges:
- 300 to 600: subprime
- 601 to 660: near prime
- 661 to 780: prime
- 781 to 850: superprime
Does age affect your credit score?
Credit scoring companies do not consider your age or give you an instant score based on it.
However, it takes time to build credit and work on the 3 key factors that impact your credit score calculation: payment history, credit utilization, and age of accounts (credit history).
According to recent FICO data, the average credit score by age group looks like this:
- 18-29: 680
- 30-39: 692
- 40-49: 706
- 50-59: 724
- 60+: 753
The average credit score for different generations breaks down like this:
- Gen Z (1997+) 669
- Millennial (1981-1996) 677
- Gen X (1965-1980) 696
- Baby Boomer (1946-1964) 738
- Silent Generation (1928-1945) 745
Just seeing these average credit scores, you might think that the older you are, the higher your credit score no matter what, but not quite.
People from older generations tend to have higher average credit scores since they’ve had more opportunities to build their credit scores. Over time, they establish a history of paying bills, work on a low credit utilization ratio, and increase their credit history. All of those factors and more add up to a good credit score.
A [Credit Account from Kikoff] is designed to address the 3 key factors of your credit score: payment history, credit utilization, and age of accounts. The best part? Kikoff is the safest way to build credit fast. Without credit checks, hidden fees, or interest, Kikoff makes achieving better credit low-effort, low-risk, & low cost—and it’s a no-brainer for anyone 18 or older, whether you have no credit, low credit, or just below-average credit.
With a Credit Account, Kikoff helps you
- Build monthly payment history that is reported to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
- Reduce your credit utilization
- Raise your age of accounts and build your credit history
“[W]hen I became an adult, I immediately became a mom. And with that, I had to provide and have a car and have an apartment[…] and I needed to build some [credit]”
What states have the highest average credit score?
According to the most recent FICO information, the average FICO score in the United States is currently around 717, but it might be different depending on where you live. The states with the top five credit scores are:
- Minnesota (742)
- Vermont (737)
- Wisconsin (737)
- New Hampshire (736)
- Washington (735)
Minnesota is the only state with an average credit score that is “very good,” aka an average score in the 740 to 799 range. All the other states in the top 5 have a state average credit score in the “good” range, between 670 and 739.
What states have the lowest average credit score?
These 5 states have the lowest average scores:
- Mississippi (680)
- Louisiana (690)
- Alabama (692)
- Texas (695)
- Georgia (695)
Even though the average credit score in these states is not bad (every state’s credit score would still be considered a “good” credit score, between 670 and 739), these credit scores tend to make it harder to pay debts on time and might keep your credit limit low.
If your credit limit is low, you might be maxing out your credit accounts and bumping your credit card debt too high.
Average credit scores based on your income
Even though credit bureaus do not use your income to calculate your credit score, the amount of money you bring in every year plays an important role in your credit score regardless.
Based on recent numbers, the average FICO score for different income levels looks like this:
- Low Income: 658
- Moderate Income: 692
- Middle Income: 735
- High Income: 774
So even though credit scoring companies don’t directly use income to figure out your credit score, it’s obvious that the average credit score for people who have a high income is higher than the average credit score for people who have a low income.
How to work on your credit score
“I had to learn the hard way. I didn’t really have anyone to teach me about lines of credit, bank accounts, things going into collection[s], any of that type of stuff.”
If you have a low credit score, you want to figure out ways to build your credit. Here are three important areas to focus on:
- Make sure bureaus can see your rent and utility payments: Bills you pay on a monthly basis can make a positive impact on your credit score. Look into tools like [rent reporting] that show your good credit habits to the credit bureaus.
- Reduce your credit utilization ratio: keep your credit card balances as low as you can, so that debts don’t show up on your credit reports.
- Maintain timely payments: Consistently pay bills and debts on time, since credit scores tend to improve if you have a history of on-time payments.
- Pay more than the minimum each month: The more you can pay down your monthly credit card balance, the sooner you’ll pay it off and the less interest you’ll pay. The closer you can get to paying off all your credit card balances, the better your credit utilization will be. It can be hard to do this though, so focus on making at least more than the minimum payment each month.
Kikoff is the #1 way to build credit safely, quickly, and easily. Designed to be affordable and accessible, Kikoff can help you [grow your credit – starting at just $5 a month.]
What else can you do for your credit score?
While Kikoff is a super important tool and [does the heavy lifting of credit building], you should always focus on the things you can control when it comes to your credit score.
Keep these overall personal finance strategies in mind:
- [Set a Budget:] Create a monthly budget to track your income and expenses. The 50, 30, 20 Budget Rule is one place to start. With this rule, you set aside 50% for Needs (food, housing, transportation, taxes), 30% for Wants (discretionary spending), and 20% for Savings and Paying Off Debt.
- Start an Emergency Fund: Pad your savings account as much as you can to cover unexpected expenses so you don’t need to rely on credit for emergencies.
- Monitor Your Credit: Tracking credit only once a month can make it hard to understand what changes might have contributed to your score going up or down. Weekly Equifax VantageScore updates with Kikoff provide an up-to-date perspective that helps you track your credit progress & understand changes.
- Identity Protection: Because your credit profile, like your finances, is tied to your identity, knowing monitoring & flagging flag problem accounts or fraudulent activity is key in maintaining progress & security. Luckily, Kikoff’s credit monitoring features can help you there, too!
Whatever your long-term goals are, Kikoff provides fair, effective, and simple tools that empower you to meet your financial goals.
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