The average American has a pretty decent credit score. The average Minnesota resident has an even better one.
For the third year in a row, Minnesota residents have the highest credit scores in the U.S. with an average VantageScore credit score of 726, a recent report from WalletHub finds. Mississippi residents have the lowest average credit score of 672, but despite the 54-point difference, both the highest and lowest average scores qualify as "good," according to VantageScore's model.
A couple of factors may explain why Minnesota residents tend to have higher credit scores. For one, Minnesotans carry relatively low average credit card balances, compared with the rest of the U.S., Bankrate reports.
This may lead residents to have lower credit utilization rates, which is "highly influential" in how VantageScores are calculated. Your credit utilization rate is the amount of available credit you use at a given time.
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Additionally, Minnesota has one of the lowest average credit card delinquency rates in the country, according to a separate WalletHub report. Because payment history is "extremely influential" in how VantageScores are calculated, consistent on-time payments likely boost scores in this state.
Here's a look at the average credit score in every state.
- Alabama: 680
- Alaska: 705
- Arizona: 698
- Arkansas: 683
- California: 705
- Colorado: 714
- Connecticut: 711
- Delaware: 701
- Florida: 694
- Georgia: 682
- Hawaii: 715
- Idaho: 715
- Illinois: 705
- Indiana: 698
- Iowa: 714
- Kansas: 707
- Kentucky: 689
- Louisiana: 677
- Maine: 715
- Maryland: 701
- Massachusetts: 718
- Michigan: 704
- Minnesota: 726
- Mississippi: 672
- Missouri: 700
- Montana: 715
- Nebraska: 714
- Nevada: 687
- New Hampshire: 723
- New Jersey: 710
- New Mexico: 690
- New York: 706
- North Carolina: 696
- North Dakota: 717
- Ohio: 701
- Oklahoma: 683
- Oregon: 715
- Pennsylvania: 708
- Rhode Island: 709
- South Carolina: 688
- South Dakota: 718
- Tennessee: 692
- Texas: 680
- Utah: 712
- Vermont: 722
- Virginia: 708
- Washington: 718
- West Virginia: 689
- Wisconsin: 720
- Wyoming: 708
Your credit score doesn't have to be perfect
Money Report
You don't need a perfect 850 credit score to earn the best financial benefits. If you boost your score to the "excellent" range, though, you can snag the most favorable interest rates from lenders. That requires a FICO score of at least 800 and a VantageScore of at least 781, according to Experian.
Boosting your credit score is relatively straightforward. As long as you consistently pay your credit card bills on time and try to keep your balances low, you can maintain a healthy credit score and gradually improve it, financial experts say.
"Even if you have a bad credit score, time is the best healer," Abdul A. Rasheed, a University of Texas at Arlington professor, said in WalletHub's average credit score report. "Roughly three years of good management of your finances will get you back on track."
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