Map shows average credit score in every state

States with lower average credit scores have experienced greater declines in the past couple of years than those with higher ones, according to a recent study by Montana-based analytics company Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).

That, according to the company, means that residents of states with lower average scores have a larger percentage of the population struggling in the current economy, while those living in states with higher scores are faring much better.

Why It Matters

The Fair Isaac Corporation created the FICO score, a type of credit score which ranges from 300 to 850 and is used to assess a borrower’s creditworthiness. The higher the credit score, the more likely it is that a borrower will repay their debts on time.

A bad credit score—usually between 300 and 579 for a FICO score—can hurt someone’s ability to meet important life milestones, such as securing a loan to buy a home or a car. Lenders are unlikely to trust a borrower with a bad credit score, and might refuse them a loan or credit cards or offer them less favorable loan terms.

What To Know

An individual’s FICO score is affected by their payment history (which accounts for about 35 percent of their score), the amount owed (which accounts for about 30 percent), the length of time they have had credit for (15 percent), how often they apply for and open new accounts (10 percent), and the variety of credit products they use (10 percent).

Based on estimates from Experian, a FICO score is “very poor” when between 300 and 579; it is “fair” between 580 and 669; “good” between 670 and 739; “very good” between 740 and 799; and “excellent” between 800 and 850.

Other companies might have slightly different definitions based on the scoring model used.

Mississippi had the lowest average credit score in the nation as of April, according to FICO, at 677. It was followed by Louisiana (687), Alabama (691), Georgia (693), and Arkansas (695), Texas (695), and Oklahoma (695). These were the only states with an average credit score below 700.

The highest average credit scores were reported in Minnesota (743), Vermont (740), New Hampshire (738) and Washington (736).

FICO’s latest report is informed by a nationally representative sample of millions of consumer credit files spanning multiple periods from one of the national consumer reporting agencies.

What Experts Say

Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said in a report: “Different lenders and loan types have different credit score requirements. Generally, borrowers with a low credit score will be limited in the type of loan they can take out, and may have additional requirements on down payment size or minimum income level.”

Jessica Vance, real estate agent and mortgage broker, told Realtor.com: “It’s important to be aware of where your credit score stands because it directly impacts your ability to purchase a home or a car. And determine what rate you may get through a lender or mortgage broker.”

What Happens Next

Many Americans are financially struggling in the current economy, especially when facing rising housing costs. While the pandemic offered a break from spending for millions of people that, together with federal aid, helped them pay down balances on credit cards and pay off accounts in collections, things have gotten bad again in the past couple of years.

The rise of inflation in 2022, which outpaced wage growth, caused consumers’ cash reserves to dwindle and credit card debt balances to rise again, economist Amy Crews Cutts of AC Cutts & Associates wrote in the FICO report.

“After all that, the average U.S. consumer entered 2025 about as financially well off as they were at the start of 2020 but with higher credit scores,” she said.

While the U.S. economy remained good “by many metrics” in the first half of 2025, “delinquency rates on auto loans, credit cards, and personal loans are at or near their highest levels since 2009, during the Great Recession—and are more consistent with an economy in recession than one still in expansion,” Crews said.

Mortgage and home equity loan delinquency rates, however, are still near historic lows, though both are starting to slowly rise. What lies ahead for the U.S. economy next year, she said, “is uncertainty.”