--- title: Student Loan Delinquencies Are So Bad They're Hurting America's Average Credit Score description: Federal student loan borrowers are struggling so much to pay their bills that it’s tanking the average credit score for the entire country. 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. At Money, he’s written extensively about student loans, including guides, explainers and breaking news. MuckRack named Adam one of the top 10 journalists covering student loans in the nation. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - 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: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - 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: '2025-04-21T12:31:21.000Z' section: Education tags: - News word_count: 794 canonical: https://money.com/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/ 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/). ![Photo-illustration of a hand holding a graduation cap reaching out of a stack of money with a hole in it.](https://img.money.com/2025/04/News-Student-Loan-Delinquencies-Credit-Score.jpg) Federal student loan borrowers are struggling so much to pay their loan bills that it’s beginning to have an impact on the average credit score for the entire country. The national average credit score of all U.S. consumers fell to 715 in February, marking a one-point dip from January and a two-point drop from last year, according to a [report](https://www.fico.com/blogs/student-loan-delinquencies-lower-average-fico-score-715) released Wednesday by the credit scoring firm FICO. Tommy Lee, senior director of analytics and scores at FICO, said in the report that the decrease is due in part to past-due federal student loan bills, which had been excluded from credit reports for almost five years during and following the pandemic. ## Take control of your student loans today! ### Refinancing your Student Loans could save you money on interest, help pay off your loan faster and even free up extra cash in your budget. Why wait? Click on your state to get started today! [See Details](https://money.com/pr/z75814e16c7f?ap_referrer=%2Fstudent-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score%2F) “Student loan delinquencies have only just started showing up in the credit report again as of February,” he said. That month alone, 2.7 million federal student loan borrowers had new late payments show up on their credit reports, FICO data shows, and many more are likely to follow in the coming months. While a one-point drop in the nation’s average credit score may sound small, it belies a major crisis for student loan borrowers. Overall, the country's average FICO score rarely drops. This decline is only one of two times that the average FICO score has fallen [in the past decade](https://money.com/average-credit-score-drops-fico/). FICO scores are relied on by most U.S. lenders to determine a loan's terms — or whether to provide the loan or financial service altogether. Scores range from 300 to 850. A credit score of 670 to 739 is considered "good," and anything above that is "very good" or "excellent," indicating that a borrower is responsible. Scores below 670 are considered “fair” or “poor,” and typically result in higher interest rates or restricted access to credit. ## Why millions of student loan borrowers are suddenly delinquent Millions of student loan borrowers who are behind on their payments are just now beginning to see their credit scores plummet as a result — even though many of them may not have made any payments since March 2020. In the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump paused federal student loan payments during his first term. Then, former President Joe Biden extended the pause several more times until October 2023. To help borrowers reacclimate to making payments after years without them, the Education Department under Biden implemented a [year-long “on-ramp” period](https://money.com/student-loan-on-ramp-ending/), in which it did not report delinquent payments to the credit bureaus. The on-ramp expired at the end of September 2024, and loans due the following month would restart the delinquency clock. For a federal loan to fall into delinquency, the payment must be at least 90 days late, which is why the credit ramifications of missed payments are now evident in 2025. In the coming months, FICO estimates upwards of 5.4 million more borrowers are at risk of falling into 90-day delinquency on their student loans. “These additional delinquencies could lead to further declines in the average FICO Score over the next few months,” Lee said. More than 40 million Americans hold federal student loan debt, which now exceeds $1.6 trillion. ## How a delinquent student loan can tank your credit For years, advocates and researchers have been warning of this financial cliff for struggling student loan borrowers. From March 2020 to October 2024, the period in which loan payments were paused plus the “on-ramp,” inflation soared over 22%. The financial breathing room that pandemic-era student loan policies initially provided was quickly eaten up by higher prices for rent, groceries and everything else. For many borrowers, “that money just isn’t there anymore,” advocate Betsy Mayotte [told Money in 2023](https://money.com/student-loan-forgiveness-debt-free-borrowers/). A [report](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2025/03/credit-score-impacts-from-past-due-student-loan-payments/) last month from the New York Federal Reserve Bank similarly predicted a massive wave of delinquencies. NY Fed researchers estimated that more than [9 million student loan borrowers](https://money.com/student-loan-credit-score-drop/) face “substantial declines” in their credit scores as a result of late payments. While the national average credit score has thus far fallen only one point, the score of an individual student loan borrower can crater from delinquency. The higher the borrower's score to start, the harder the delinquency hits. For borrowers with poor credit scores — 620 and below — a delinquent student loan caused an estimated 87-point decline, NY Fed research shows. For those with initial credit scores of 760 or higher, a delinquency can drop their score by 171 points. “Although some of these borrowers may be able to cure their delinquencies,” the Fed researchers wrote, “the damage to their credit standing will have already been done and will remain on their credit reports for seven years.” ## Compare Student Loan Refinance rates today ### Get pre-approved in 2 minutes ![See Details](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26621/medium_18b55bcd-82cd-4d73-b404-97711fd4a5e7.png) Our Partner [See Details](https://money.com/go/be43915e8ceb?bidid=4031141637&pmeta=p129-c524-u27951&ptid=662480999&ptoken=47948157029e2e2ab53264a9caf294cb) ### Compare multiple lenders ![See Details](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38966/medium_752a1e55-4e21-4d57-a49f-43d51659e66b.webp) Our Partner [See Details](https://money.com/go/0a8f043476b0?bidid=4031141635&pmeta=p129-c524-u27951&ptid=662480999&ptoken=5374363e944b7dac22f718a878baeb2b) ### Low-interest rates & a variety of repayment options ![See Details](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/28522/medium_d9060e39-6dbd-420c-9b34-621585e2f2ac.png) Our Partner [See Details](https://money.com/go/2bd0f0616b1b?bidid=4031141644&pmeta=p129-c524-u27951&ptid=662480999&ptoken=78a08839801075ca316b005f49445bd6) ### Consolidate federal & private loans ![See Details](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22270/medium_29794957-e55c-4470-9680-6dee519667e1.png) Our Partner [See Details](https://money.com/go/85714980ba8b?bidid=4031141642&pmeta=p129-c524-u27951&ptid=662480999&ptoken=cf9f8a120f12c67c33fd99df4c678104) ![See Details](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38975/medium_fada6d3e-7950-482c-b365-f29d6aee9f01.webp) Our Partner [See Details](https://money.com/go/57208d0014e8?bidid=4031141646&pmeta=p129-c524-u27951&ptid=662480999&ptoken=3362dbad56deab891e2ef5cc0d86653d) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26621/medium_18b55bcd-82cd-4d73-b404-97711fd4a5e7.png) Refinance your Student Loan with SoFi today! [See Details](https://money.com/pr/odc45b263191?ap_referrer=%2Fstudent-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Student Loan Delinquencies Are So Bad They're Hurting America's Average Credit Score" } ] }, { "@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/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/", "name": "Student Loan Delinquencies Are So Bad They're Hurting America's Average Credit Score", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-04-21T12:31:21.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/student-loan-delinquencies-hurt-average-credit-score/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Student Loan Delinquencies Are So Bad They're Hurting America's Average Credit Score", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/04/News-Student-Loan-Delinquencies-Credit-Score.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Student-Loan-Delinquencies-Credit-Score" } ], "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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