How Do You Stack Up Agains The Nations Average Credit Score

Because of the increasing number of auto loans, mortgages, and credit card balances, the U.S. would seem to have a low national average credit score. But, it's actually in the neighborhood of 680, which isn't exactly poor.

Of 20 metro areas surveyed, Minneapolis and Boston fly high while Dallas and Houston lag.
How Do You Stack Up Against the Nation’s Average Credit Score?

Judging from the growing number of mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt carried by Americans in general, you might tend to think we would have a low national average credit score. But in reality, the average credit score of Americans is currently in the neighborhood of 680, a respectable number by all accounts. Credit scores are used by lending institutions to evaluate credit worthiness of an individual. While carrying a heavy amount of personal debt can be harmful for your financial situation, it won’t necessarily effect your credit score.

So what are these numbers all about? What factors effect your score, and how do you know if your score in in the proper range?

Individual credit scores can range anywhere from 330 to 830, with the higher scores being the better and the lowest credit risk for lending institutions. A score above 700 is considered excellent, while 650 is considered an average credit score. Any score lower than 600 could use improvement.

"The biggest driving factor to a score is delinquency payments or payment history, says Arlene Dang, manager of analytics for Experian. Experian is one of the three big hitters in credit reporting agencies for the United States.

The national average credit score is 676. Those of you in the Minneapolis area are among the elite of the nation’s highest credit scores. According to Experian, the Minneapolis area has an average credit score of 705, the highest in the nation. The Boston area residents come in at a very close second, with an average credit score of 704.

Out of the 20 major metro areas which are ranked by Experian, Dallas and Houston. As a matter of fact these cities have an average credit score among their residents which is more than 50 points below those in Minneapolis. Dallas has an average credit score of 650, while Houston comes in a little higher with an average score of 652.