2023 is here, and with the new year, we’re all a little more focused on watching our budgets more carefully, paying off debt, and improving our credit scores.

 

So, Blue Water Credit – the nation’s leader in legal, ethical, and highly-effective credit score solutions, wanted to bring you these 2023 credit score statistics for the new year.

 

  1. As of this year, the average US FICO credit score was 716.

 

  1. Approximately 26 million US adults – or about one in ten – are “credit invisible,” which means they lack a credit history.

 

  1. Of those, around 19 million adults don’t have a credit score at all.

 

  1. The breakdown of average credit scores by age group is the following:

Ages 18-23: 674

Ages 24-39: 680

Ages 40-55: 699

Ages 56-74: 736

Ages 75+: 758

  1. Looking by generation, here are the average credit scores:

Generation Z: 674

Millennials: 680

Generation X: 699

Baby Boomers: 736

Silent Generation: 758

 

  1. There are even clear patterns to credit scoring based on borrower income, as follows:

$30,000 or less per year: 590

$30,001 to $49,999: 643

$50,000 to $74,999: 737

 

  1. To qualify for a FICO score, you must have at least one credit account, like a credit card or car loan, etc., that’s been open for at least six months and at least one credit line or account that’s been reporting to the credit bureaus for at least six months.

 

  1. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.

 

  1. Anything above 800 is considered an exceptional credit score.

 

  1. Of course, 850 is a perfect credit score.

 

  1. Yet only 22 percent of US adults have a credit score of even 800 or more.

 

  1. Anything below 580 is considered a poor credit score, 581-669 is a fair credit score, and between 670 to 739 is a good credit score.

 

  1. Americans have seen steadily improving credit scores. In fact, from 2010 to 2020, the average FICO score increased by about 24 points.

 

  1. In real numbers, in 2010, the US average FICO score was just 687, but today it’s 711.

 

  1. We’re definitely not checking our credit scores enough! In fact, 54 percent of US adults admit to NEVER checking their credit scores.

 

  1. And only 21 percent of those polled say they check their credit score on a monthly basis.

 

  1. Another study revealed that only 33 percent of adults had checked their credit scores within the past year.

 

  1. Only 11.1 percent of US adults with a credit score have a FICO between 300 and 549.

 

  1. Why is it so important to track and report credit history and usage? Data shows that about 61 percent of people with low or poor credit scores will miss payments and fall behind on their loans!

 

  1. However, a solid 59.2 percent of US adults have FICO scores in the range between 700 and 850.

 

  1. Residents of Minnesota have the highest average credit score of any state (739), while Mississippians have the lowest average credit score (675).

 

  1. As a general guideline, here is the absolute minimum credit score required to buy a home with these loan programs:

Conventional Mortgage: 620

VA Loan: 580

FHA Loan With 3.5 Percent down: 580

FHA Loan With 10 Percent down: 500

 

  1. For help building your credit score and boosting your score, the #1 company in the industry is Blue Water Credit, the nation’s choice for legal, ethical, and highly effective credit score help!

 

Contact us if you have any questions, would like a risk-free credit consultation, or are ready to see your score skyrocket in 2023!