--- title: 'Credit Score Trouble: 1.2 Million More Americans Just Became ‘Subprime Borrowers’' description: A new report from VantageScore shows that debt delinquencies are rising, making more Americans "subprime borrowers" with bad credit scores. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy has eight years of experience in personal finance journalism. Through approachable guides, explainers, news and more, Adam has reported extensively on credit for Money. His credit coverage won an award from the nonprofit Money Management International. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 501 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 - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: A graduate of the University of Florida, Julia has more than eight years of experience in personal finance journalism. In addition to overseeing Money’s news coverage, she frequently reports on the ins and outs of credit scores, the credit bureaus and free credit reports. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 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 - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-04-04T14:33:06.000Z' modified: '2024-04-23T22:28:45.000Z' section: Credit tags: - News word_count: 467 canonical: https://money.com/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/ type: NewsArticle 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/). ![Person holding a credit card and cell phone](https://img.money.com/2024/04/News-Credit-Scores-Delinquency.jpg) Americans are falling behind on their credit and loan payments, pushing many into the lowest credit tier possible. Compared to last year, 1.2 million more Americans are now considered "subprime borrowers" — or those who have [credit scores](https://money.com/what-is-a-credit-score/) in the 300 to 600 range — according to a Money analysis of the [latest data](https://www.vantagescore.com/press_releases/vantagescore-creditgauge-february-2024-consumers-continued-to-move-up-or-out-as-vantagescore-prime-credit-tier-contracted-by-1-1-year-over-year/) released by the credit-scoring firm VantageScore. Overall, more than 47 million Americans fall into VantageScore’s subprime-borrower category as of February 2024, our analysis shows. Developed by the “big three” credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, a VantageScore is essentially a brand-name credit score. Scores range from 300 to 850 and are broken into four categories: subprime (300-600), near prime (601-660), prime (661-780) and super prime (above 780). ## If you're carrying over $20,000 in debt, Debt Relief could be a fast track to financial freedom ### Select your state to begin applying for Accredited Debt Relief's program. [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/p63c2d2aa2f3?ap_referrer=%2Fcredit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers%2F) An uptick in delinquencies on all types of loans — including [auto loans](https://money.com/best-auto-loan-rates/), [credit cards](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/), [mortgages](https://money.com/what-is-a-credit-score/) and [personal loans](https://money.com/best-personal-loans/) — and across all credit-score tiers is contributing to plummeting scores for some folks, according to VantageScore. When people have a credit score 600 or below, it becomes exceedingly difficult to participate in the U.S. financial system and modern daily life as a whole. For instance, many lenders turn away subprime borrowers or charge them exorbitant [annual percentage rates](https://money.com/what-is-apr/). Beyond loans, internet and phone plans, security deposits and even rent payments can increase in cost as a result of a low credit score. Employers are increasingly considering credit scores in their hiring decisions as well. ## Credit score trends show ‘a tale of two consumers’ According to VantageScore, the average credit score for all Americans is 701 and remains unchanged from last year. However, while the average VantageScore is holding steady, Americans’ credit scores are getting increasingly polarized. About a third of Americans have prime scores, in the 661 to 780 range, making it the largest credit-score category and the main demographic of lenders. But VantageScore notes that this group is shrinking, with more people either ascending into the “superprime” category — with near-perfect credit scores — or they’re falling into the subprime category. “The tale of two consumers is becoming more pronounced,” said Susan Fahy, chief digital officer at VantageScore, in the data report. Fahy suggested today’s high-interest rate environment — engineered by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation — could be behind the trend. Americans with near-perfect credit are still able to spend and borrow as they need. Meanwhile, “subprime consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay current on credit payments,” she added. A [separate report](https://www.fico.com/blogs/average-us-fico-score-717-more-consumers-face-financial-headwinds) released last month from rival credit-scoring firm FICO largely supports these findings. FICO found that, for the first time in over a decade, the [average FICO score ticked down last year](https://money.com/average-credit-score-drops-fico/), to 717. Lingering inflation and high interest rates are likely to blame for people falling behind on their debt payments, FICO said. ## If your debt is legit, a Debt Relief company could be a good option to help you pay it. ### If you owe $15,000 or more in debt, Accredited can help you lessen the amount you owe and make managing your debt easier. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/gf481e2b9a99?ap_referrer=%2Fcredit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers%2F) ## More on Credit & Credit Repair | | | --- | | **Money’s Top Selection** [Best Credit Repair Companies](https://money.com/best-credit-repair-companies/) **Guides for Improving Your Credit** [How to Get Negative Items Removed from Your Credit Report](https://money.com/get-items-removed-from-credit-report/) [How to Remove Verizon Collections from Your Credit Report](https://money.com/how-to-remove-verizon-collections-from-your-credit-report/) [How to Remove Jefferson Capital Systems from Your Credit Report](https://money.com/how-to-remove-jefferson-capital-systems-from-your-credit-report/) [More on Credit and Credit Collections](https://money.com/collections/) **Money’s Credit Repair Companies Reviews** [Lexington Law](https://money.com/lexington-law-credit-repair-review/) [Credit Saint](https://money.com/credit-saint-credit-repair-review/) [Sky Blue](https://money.com/sky-blue-credit-repair-review/) | ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fcredit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/#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": "Credit Score Trouble: 1.2 Million More Americans Just Became ‘Subprime Borrowers’" } ] }, { "@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/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/", "name": "Credit Score Trouble: 1.2 Million More Americans Just Became ‘Subprime Borrowers’", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-04-04T14:33:06.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/credit-score-trouble-increase-subprime-borrowers/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-23T22:28:45.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Credit Score Trouble: 1.2 Million More Americans Just Became ‘Subprime Borrowers’", "articleSection": "Credit", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/04/News-Credit-Scores-Delinquency.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Credit-Scores-Delinquency" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy has eight years of experience in personal finance journalism. 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