Average Credit Scores by Race

Debt Management

Disparities exist among racial and ethnic groups, but all have relatively good scores on average

Part of the Series Race and Income Inequality Where the Gaps Are

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Wage Gaps by Race
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Retirement Savings by Race
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The Insurance Industry

The Role of Real Estate

History of Lending Discrimination
Contract Buyers League
Redlining
Restrictive Covenant
What HUD Does
VA Housing Loans and Race
Bureau of Indian Affairs Housing Programs

Race and the Power Structure

Academic Leadership by Race
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Government Leadership by Race
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Corporate Leadership by Race

Legal Remedies

Civil Rights Act 1964
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
Fair Housing Act
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
Should America Pay Slavery Reparations?

Studies of average credit scores show substantial disparities among different racial and ethnic groups. This article looks at those disparities and some possible reasons for them.

Key Takeaways

Credit scores do not factor in age, race, income, or place of residence.
Homeownership and debt levels, including student loans, can disproportionately affect certain racial groups' credit scores.
Credit scores generally favor mortgage holders over renters.
White-Americans have the highest average credit scores, followed by Hispanics and then Blacks.

What Credit Score Studies Have Found

The average credit score across all Americans was 717 as of October 2024, according to FICO. This is a one-point drop from the previous score reported in October 2023. The decrease was due to a rise in missed payments and more consumer debt. VantageScore, which is a credit scoring model reported by the three credit reporting bureaus, reported an average credit score of 702 in its December 2024 report.

The Urban Institute compared median credit scores in majority Black, majority White, majority Hispanic, and majority Native American communities. The White and Hispanic communities had the highest median scores, while the Black and Native American communities had the lowest. The study didn’t include majority-Asian communities but did have a category for all communities. The table below breaks down the credit scores and their ranges for VantageScore (the basis for the study’s scores) and FICO.

Median Credit Scores by Race
Race	Average Score	VantageScore Range	FICO Score Range
All Communities	709	Prime	Good
Native American	612	Near prime	Fair
Black	627	Near prime	Fair
Hispanic	667	Prime	Fair
White	727	Prime	Good

The group also looked at the median credit scores of young Americans by race, which varies by age group. It reported the following for people between 25 and 29:

Majority-Black communities had a median credit score of 582
Majority-Hispanic communities had a median credit score of 644
Majority-White communities had a median credit score of 687

What Do Credit Scores Measure?

Credit scores measure a variety of financial factors but do not take into account the person’s race, age, income, or where they live. Still, disparities can be driven by differences in how much debt a consumer has, whether they’ve ever had a credit card and for how long, and whether they are a homeowner with a mortgage—all of which can vary by race.

For example, “Black and African American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than White college graduates,” according to the Education Data Initiative. That debt burden can make it difficult to keep up with other payments, potentially resulting in a lower credit score. It can also make it difficult to obtain a mortgage to purchase a home.

Credit scoring models tend to favor homeownership, tracking payments on mortgages but generally not rent or utilities. Since renters make up a higher percentage of Black and Hispanic households compared with White and Asian ones, fewer Black and Hispanic consumers can benefit from mortgage-related inputs to their score, while a pristine rent payment record may have no impact. Newer credit scoring models, such as VantageScore 4.0, try to address that by factoring in rent and utility payments if they are reported to the major credit bureaus.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it illegal for creditors to discriminate based on race, color, religion, age, and certain other characteristics. The Fair Housing Act offers similar protections for people seeking home financing.

How Credit Scoring Works

Both FICO and VantageScore have multiple scoring models, some for specific types of lending, such as credit cards vs. auto loans. Their scores are based on data in the credit reports compiled by one or more of the three major national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), and because not all creditors supply information to every bureau, credit reports can differ from one bureau to another.

FICO and VantageScore each generate scores on a scale of 300 to 850 and use relatively similar criteria. FICO, which is the older of the two companies, remains the most commonly used system. The two factors that have the biggest impact on an individual's credit score are:

How regularly they pay their debts on time, which accounts for 35% of their score.
How much credit they have available and how much they are currently using (a figure known as their credit utilization ratio), which accounts for 30%.

In other words, those two factors add up to almost two-thirds of a person's score.

Weighted less heavily but still important are how long they’ve had credit accounts (longer is better), how many times they’ve applied for new credit in the last 12 months (fewer is better), and whether or not they show a mix of credit types, such as a credit card, mortgage, and auto loan (some variety is good).

What Is Considered Good Credit?

Experian, one of the three major credit reporting companies, divides the quality of credit into five tiers, beginning with Poor and culminating at Exceptional. Anything below 580 is considered Poor, and it takes a score of at least 670 to move into the Good range. A Fair score falls between the two. Very Good begins at 740, and those with a score of 800 or more enjoy the label of Exceptional.

How Can You Get Your Credit Score?

You can purchase your credit score from credit bureaus or credit scoring companies, or you can obtain one for free from several sources. For example, many banks and credit card issuers will provide free credit scores to their customers. There are also reputable websites that offer free credit scores. Bear in mind that there are multiple credit scoring models and you may have several credit scores besides the one you obtain.

Why Are Credit Scores Important?

Lenders, such as credit card issuers or auto loan companies, use credit scores as a way to judge the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. Having a higher score increases the borrower's odds of being approved and of getting a good interest rate. Credit scores are also used by some employers, landlords, and insurance companies as a way of assessing applicants.

How Can You Raise Your Credit Score?

There are a variety of ways to raise your credit score and keep it up there. The most important one is to maintain a solid record of paying your bills on time. Another major factor is your credit utilization ratio, which compares the amount of debt you have outstanding at any given time with the total amount of credit you have available to you. If your credit utilization ratio exceeds 30%, your credit score can suffer.

The Bottom Line

Credit score disparities among racial and ethnic groups exist, but they are largely the result of external factors—such as differences in homeownership, debt levels, and access to credit—not race itself. These disparities reflect broader societal and financial inequalities, and addressing them will require changes both to credit scoring models and broader economic policies.