I ran across this article while trying to find some data on average/median credit scores by age group. They had a handy graph (see below), courtesy of my favorite free FICO-like credit score site, Credit Karma.
Why should you care about your credit score?
As financial writers like Ramit Sethi have pointed out, your credit score is crucial when it comes to saving BIG BUCKS on loans (via a lower interest rate) for items like cars & homes. Additionally, folks ranging from landlords to employers to cable companies are using credit score to evaluate you, so keep your credit score high!
What the data says
As you might expect, credit scores tend to increase with age. Those aged 25 – 34 have an average credit score of about 650, while those over 55 have an average of about 725.
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Another useful metric is the FICO median credit score for the US, which is 723. (‘Median’ means 50% of people have a score below 723, and 50% have one above, whereas average just combines everyone’s score & divides by the total population, which allows really bad, or really good, scores to move the average a lot more than they’d move the median.)
Since the median method of calculation keeps terrible scores from dragging down the average (which is probably why it’s higher than the average score shown in the chart below), this is probably a better measure to benchmark yourself against if you’ve never had any terrible credit history (default, bankruptcy, foreclosure, etc.)
So, where do you rank?
I recommend you get your credit score by signing up (quickly, and with no hassles or gimmicks!) for a free account at creditkarma.com. (I’ve used them to check my score every year or so for the past few years, and have been very happy with their site.)
Anything over 750 range is good, with a good goal being around 780 or above.
Check out the above-linked article from Ramit Sethi on how to improve your credit score if it needs a boost!
