Credit Trends

Trends by Age

Based on our data, there is clearly a relationship between age and average credit scores. Generally speaking, younger individuals will have lower credits scores on average.

There is a very good technical reason for this phenomenon. The length of your credit history is a factor that goes into the credit score calculation. Since younger individuals will have shorter credit history, they will tend to have a lower credit score all else equal.

The depth of your credit is probably lower with younger individuals as well. The combination of the two effects lead to the lower averages for younger people.

Keep in mind the chart does not mean you can't have high credit if you are young. It just points out the correlations and averages. There are dozens of factors that affect credit scores. Being aware of all the factors is important to being a well informed consumer.

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USER COMMENTS(99)

tbutcher
Oct 12
10:45 am

Well, I love this site too! I finally got my credit score for free..lol

khelton
Oct 2
2:51 am

"Younger people are handicapped by NOT PAYING THEIR bills. I've always paid everything on time, have a number of credit cards I rarely keep a balance on, had a few personal loans I repaid and have student loans currently."

Yes, because everyone has enough money to pay all their bills on time every single month. Someone's never had to live paycheck-to-paycheck, obviously.

bramasoleiow
Sep 19
10:48 pm

It would be nice to compare scores within my age group and not just see what the average scores of each age group are.

adubinc26
Sep 9
10:03 am

Great site! Very informative.

jeffbowman
Sep 5
12:06 am

I'm 20 and somehow I have a 762. I borrow wisely and pay on time, and have most of my utilities in my name.

Good scores do happen to the young, once in a while.

veronykah
Sep 2
10:10 pm

Hm, I'm 29 and my score is 766. Apparently you do not have to have an account for 40 years to get a high score.

Younger people are handicapped by NOT PAYING THEIR bills. I've always paid everything on time, have a number of credit cards I rarely keep a balance on, had a few personal loans I repaid and have student loans currently.

p80maloney
Aug 4
3:58 pm

Are the scores in this chart from TransUnion (like "My Credit" page) or are they FICO scores?

ckken
Jun 26
3:47 pm

@dangerp

You are absolutely right about age of trade line and its importance on credit scores. I think we were merely pointing out that that there are dozens of variables in the credit scoring model.

dangerp
Jun 26
3:34 pm

to quote:

"Keep in mind the chart does not mean you can't have high credit if you are young."

I have always read that one of the keys to a higher credit score is longevity. In fact, according to a very reputable source, the optimal amount of time to have an account open is 40 years! How is a 20 yr old supposed to get that?

The system handicaps the already handicapped young people by assuming that just because they have 'only' had an account for the last 7 years (let's say, since as long as they were eligible to sign themselves up for an account), they are a credit risk. Sure, this person might have an OK credit score if he has zero blemishes, but never a great score.