A person's credit score can be an important factor in one's financial health. After all, credit scores are used to determine eligibility for mortgages, car loans, apartment rentals, and even the interest rates for which one might qualify.
According to Equifax, a "good" credit score is considered to be 670 to 739, while 740 to 799 is considered "very good," and 800 and up is considered "excellent."
The Average Credit Score in the United States: According to a recent study by WalletHub, the average American has a credit score of 695, which puts many Americans toward the bottom end of the "good" credit score range.
Determining Variations Within the States: WalletHub wanted to know if credit scores varied throughout the United States, so it analyzed credit scores as of October 2022 from residents in each of the 50 states using TransUnion data.
How Did Florida Fare?: Florida came in number 36 of 50, or in the bottom 25%. Florida's average credit score was 689 or 6 points lower than the national average. However, this is just the average. Some Florida cities have higher credit scores than others.
Which Florida City Had the Best Credit Scores? According to a WalletHub study that looked at credit scores in cities rather than states, the Villages, a fast-growing retirement community in Sumter county, had the highest average credit scores in the state at 778.77.
Theories as to Why Florida Lags Behind Some Other States: Experian did a similar survey to the WalletHub survey, and it found that the average Floridian had a FICO score of 701, which was 13 points lower than the national average.
The Miami Herald asked a HUD-certified housing counselor named Lorenzo Varon what might be the cause of Florida's lag when it comes to credit stores.
Varon said that several factors may be to blame, such as the rising costs of housing, utility bills, property taxes, and inflation. Varon also said that Florida can be home to populations that have a "bare credit history" and must therefore turn to payday lenders when they are in a financial bind.
Some experts say that Florida's diverse population may also contribute to varying credit scores. According to WalletHub's Jill Gonzalez, Florida has a mix of young people with little established financial stability and retirees who have a longer financial history.
Which States Had the Best Credit Scores? Which Had the Worst?: Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Vermont scored best, all having credit scores over 718.
Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi scored the worst, all with credit scores of lower than 672.
The Rest of the List: Although credit scores for Floridians are probably informative to those reading in Florida, it is also interesting to see how the other states did. Here is the rest of WalletHub's list. The states listed first have the best or highest credit scores. The number beside each state is the average resident credit score.
1 Minnesota 724
2 New Hampshire 719
3 Vermont 718
4 Massachusetts 716
5 South Dakota 715
6 North Dakota 715
7 Hawaii 715
8 Washington 714
9 Oregon 712
10 Nebraska 712
11 Wisconsin 711
12 Colorado 711
13 Iowa 710
14 Idaho 709
15 Montana 708
16 Maine 708
17 Utah 707
18 Connecticut 706
19 Rhode Island 706
20 New Jersey 705
21 Pennsylvania 704
22 New York 704
23 Alaska 703
24 California 703
25 Wyoming 700
26 Virginia 699
27 Michigan 699
28 Illinois 698
29 Maryland 696
30 Kansas 695
31 Arizona 694
32 Ohio 693
33 Delaware 693
34 Indiana 691
35 Missouri 690
36 Florida 689
37 North Carolina 686
38 Tennessee 682
39 New Mexico 682
40 Nevada 679
41 South Carolina 678
42 Kentucky 678
43 West Virginia 676
44 Georgia 675
45 Texas 674
46 Oklahoma 673
47 Arkansas 673
48 Alabama 672
49 Louisiana 668
50 Mississippi 662
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