The average American’s credit score is 716 according to FICO, the company that created the most-used credit scoring formula. FICO publishes this data every six months, and this is the third time in a row that the average credit score has been 716.
Before this plateau, there had been a steady upward trend. The average credit score has not decreased in any of these semi-annual updates since October 2013. It rose from 690 in late 2013 to 700 in early 2017. Then it really took off during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, jumping five points from 708 in April 2020 to 713 in October 2020. That was the largest six-month improvement in the dataset, which stretches back to 2005. The average went up another three points in the ensuing six months and has stuck there ever since.
Why credit scores have risen in recent years
