--- title: This Is the Average Credit Score for Every Age description: Older consumers are more likely to have a "good" or "excellent" credit score, based on a new analysis by FICO. How does yours compare? authors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Credit - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2018-01-23T15:39:15.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T07:41:36.000Z' section: Credit tags: - credit report - credit score - FICO word_count: 328 canonical: https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![180123-credit-score-age](https://img.money.com/2018/01/180123-credit-score-age.jpg) The average American’s credit score has been ticking up over the past few years, hitting a record 700 last year. But that strong national average hides a wide age-based range. There is a 91-point difference between the average scores of those in the oldest bracket of consumers and those in the youngest group, according to a new analysis that FICO performed for Money. With each decade, the average score increases by about 20 points. FICO is the most widely used credit score, a number that’s used to measure individuals' creditworthiness. Scores range from 300 to 850, and anything above 720 is considered excellent. While the [FICO score calculation](https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score/) doesn't directly consider age, 15% of the score comes from the length of your credit history—putting younger people at a natural disadvantage. Likewise, 10% of the score is based on the mix of debt you have; it’s better to have a diverse mix—from a mortgage to student debt to car loans—than a single credit card. (And younger consumers are less likely to have a mortgage; the [median age of first-time home buyers is 32](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/realestate/first-time-home-buyers-statistics.html), a report last year found.) The largest factors, comprising 65% of the score, are on-time payment history and "credit utilization"—that is, how much you're using of the total credit you have available. More than half of consumers had a [score above 700](http://www.fico.com/en/blogs/risk-compliance/us-average-fico-score-hits-700-a-milestone-for-consumers/), according to FICO analysis of scores in April 2017. Your credit score affects your financial life in multiple ways: Lenders assign interest rates based on the bracket your score falls in. Landlords often require a minimum credit score in order to rent an apartment without a co-signer on the lease. Poor credit even affects how much [homeowners pay for insurance](https://money.com/credit-score-home-insurance-mortgage/). How does your credit score stack up against the average for your age group? Here are the average scores by age, as of April 2017: - 18-29 years old: 652 - 30-39 years old: 671 - 40-49 years old: 685 - 50-59 years old: 709 - Age 60+: 743 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Credit", "item": "https://money.com/credit/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Credit Score", "item": "https://money.com/credit-score/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This Is the Average Credit Score for Every Age" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/", "name": "This Is the Average Credit Score for Every Age", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2018-01-23T15:39:15.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-score-by-age/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T07:41:36.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "This Is the Average Credit Score for Every Age", "articleSection": "Credit", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2018/01/180123-credit-score-age.jpg", "width": 2800, "height": 1866, "caption": "180123-credit-score-age" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kaitlin Mulhere", "url": "https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/#author", "description": "Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. 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