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Credit Statistics - National Averages
By analyzing a large sample of
credit file information on people who recently obtained new credit, Fair
Isaac was able to survey the panorama of credit activity across the U.S. The following statistics reflect the average use of credit by today's
consumers from their survey.
Number of Credit Obligations
On average, today's consumer has a total of 11 credit obligations on
record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards (such as department
store charge cards, gas cards, or bank cards) and installment loans (auto
loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and
checking accounts (typically not reported to a credit bureau). Of these 11
credit obligations, 7 are likely to be credit cards and 4 are likely to be
installment loans.
Past Payment Performance
On average, today's consumers are paying their bills on time. Fewer than 4
out of 10 have ever been reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only 2 out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue on any credit
obligation. 85% of all consumers have never had a loan or account that was
90+ days overdue, and less than 10% have ever had a loan or account closed
by the lender due to default.
Credit Utilization
About 48% of credit card holders carry a balance of less than $1,000. About 10% are far less conservative in their use of credit cards and have
total card balances in excess of $10,000. When we look at the total of all
credit obligations combined (except mortgage loans), 54% of consumers
carry less than $5,000 of debt. This includes all credit cards, lines of
credit, and loans-everything but mortgages. Nearly 30% carry more than
$10,000 of non-mortgage-related debt as reported to the credit bureaus.
Total Available Credit
The typical consumer has access to $12,190 on all credit cards combined. More than half of all people with credit cards are using less than 30% of
their total credit card limit. Just over 1 in 8 are using 80% or more of
their credit card limit.
Length of Credit History
The average consumer's oldest obligation is 13 years old, indicating that
he or she has been managing credit for some time. In fact, we found that 1
out of 5 consumers who recently applied for credit, had credit histories
of 20 years or longer. Only 1 in 20 consumers had credit histories shorter
than 2 years.
Inquiries
When someone applies for a loan or a new credit card account - in short,
any time one applies for credit and a lender requests a copy of the credit
report - this request is noted as an "inquiry" in the applicant's credit
file. The average consumer has had only one inquiry on his or her accounts
within the past year. Fewer than 7% had four or more inquiries resulting
from a search for new credit.
What is an
Inquiry?
An
inquiry is an item on a credit report
that shows a business with a "permissible purpose" (as defined under the
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act) has previously requested a copy of the
report.
Not all inquiries count toward your Credit Score.
When you check your credit report, you may notice that a number of
credit inquiries have been made, sometimes from businesses that you don’t
know. But the only inquiries that count toward your Credit Score are the
ones that result from your applications for new credit.
Your Credit Score is not affected when you check your credit. Checking your credit reports
regularly to be sure they are accurate and error-free is a good idea. In
fact, maintaining accurate credit reports is a part of good credit
management, which can help to improve your Credit Scores over time.
You can also order your credit
reports from the credit bureaus. Either way, your Credit Score is not
affected by your own credit report checks—which are voluntary.
Addresses and phone numbers for the credit reporting agencies follow:
How inquiries are factored
into Credit Scores.
There are five types of
information used to calculate a Credit Score at any given point in time.
Each type of information counts as a percentage of a total Credit Score as
referred to in this website:
Payment history = 35%
Amounts owed = 30%
Length of credit history = 15%
New credit = 10%
Types of credit in use = 10%
These percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general population. For
particular groups, such as people with relatively short credit histories,
the importance of the categories may differ.
Inquiries are a subset of the
"new credit" category shown above, which accounts for 10% of the total
Credit Score. Their importance depends on the overall information in your
credit report. For some people, a given factor may be more important than
for someone else with a different credit history. In addition, as the
information in your credit report changes, so does the importance of any
factor in determining your score. What's important is the mix of
information, which varies from person to person, and for any one person
over time. Inquiries may or may not
affect your Credit Score.
Click Here for the
Glossary.
Continue by clicking on:
Free Credit
Reports.
The information on this page and in this
website is
derived from sources that we believe are reliable. This information is not
guaranteed. We are not
offering legal or accounting advice and suggest that you contact a lawyer
and an accountant before taking any action.
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