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A good credit score is essential for qualifying for financial products with good terms and benefits, from credit cards to mortgages to auto loans. Your credit score increases or decreases based on how responsibly you use credit and pay it off. Unfortunately, the average credit score actually dropped in all 50 states over the past year, which indicates that Americans are struggling with things like increased debt and late payments.
To identify the states with the largest credit score decreases, we analyzed the latest WalletHub data on consumers’ finances from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024.
Main Findings
State | Rank |
---|---|
Alaska | 1 |
Vermont | 2 |
Mississippi | 3 |
Alabama | 4 |
Tennessee | 5 |
Nevada | 6 |
Delaware | 7 |
Florida | 8 |
Massachusetts | 9 |
Louisiana | 10 |
West Virginia | 11 |
North Carolina | 12 |
Texas | 12 |
Georgia | 14 |
Missouri | 15 |
Michigan | 16 |
Pennsylvania | 17 |
Nebraska | 18 |
Virginia | 18 |
Wyoming | 20 |
Maryland | 21 |
Ohio | 22 |
California | 23 |
New Jersey | 23 |
Idaho | 25 |
Illinois | 25 |
New York | 27 |
Washington | 27 |
New Hampshire | 29 |
Hawaii | 30 |
Colorado | 31 |
Rhode Island | 31 |
Arkansas | 33 |
Oklahoma | 34 |
South Carolina | 35 |
New Mexico | 36 |
Indiana | 37 |
South Dakota | 38 |
Arizona | 39 |
North Dakota | 40 |
Connecticut | 41 |
Montana | 42 |
Kansas | 43 |
Minnesota | 44 |
Wisconsin | 45 |
Utah | 46 |
Iowa | 47 |
Kentucky | 48 |
Oregon | 49 |
Maine | 50 |
States with the Largest Credit Score Decreases
Overall Rank* | State | Average Credit Score in Q3 2024 | Q3 2024 vs. Q3 2023 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alaska | 679 | -1.02% |
2 | Vermont | 697 | -0.85% |
3 | Mississippi | 630 | -0.79% |
4 | Alabama | 641 | -0.77% |
5 | Tennessee | 653 | -0.76% |
6 | Nevada | 662 | -0.75% |
7 | Delaware | 669 | -0.74% |
8 | Florida | 690 | -0.72% |
9 | Massachusetts | 702 | -0.71% |
10 | Louisiana | 640 | -0.62% |
11 | West Virginia | 647 | -0.61% |
12 | North Carolina | 659 | -0.60% |
12 | Texas | 659 | -0.60% |
14 | Georgia | 662 | -0.60% |
15 | Missouri | 664 | -0.60% |
16 | Michigan | 669 | -0.59% |
17 | Pennsylvania | 670 | -0.59% |
18 | Nebraska | 674 | -0.59% |
18 | Virginia | 674 | -0.59% |
20 | Wyoming | 675 | -0.59% |
21 | Maryland | 679 | -0.59% |
22 | Ohio | 684 | -0.58% |
23 | California | 686 | -0.58% |
23 | New Jersey | 686 | -0.58% |
25 | Idaho | 687 | -0.58% |
25 | Illinois | 687 | -0.58% |
27 | New York | 690 | -0.58% |
27 | Washington | 690 | -0.58% |
29 | New Hampshire | 694 | -0.57% |
30 | Hawaii | 695 | -0.57% |
31 | Colorado | 697 | -0.57% |
31 | Rhode Island | 697 | -0.57% |
33 | Arkansas | 636 | -0.47% |
34 | Oklahoma | 649 | -0.46% |
35 | South Carolina | 655 | -0.46% |
36 | New Mexico | 662 | -0.45% |
37 | Indiana | 663 | -0.45% |
38 | South Dakota | 668 | -0.45% |
39 | Arizona | 673 | -0.44% |
40 | North Dakota | 681 | -0.44% |
41 | Connecticut | 685 | -0.44% |
42 | Montana | 692 | -0.43% |
43 | Kansas | 677 | -0.29% |
44 | Minnesota | 683 | -0.29% |
45 | Wisconsin | 689 | -0.29% |
46 | Utah | 691 | -0.29% |
47 | Iowa | 709 | -0.28% |
48 | Kentucky | 648 | -0.15% |
49 | Oregon | 684 | -0.15% |
50 | Maine | 687 | -0.15% |
Note: *No. 1 = Largest Credit Score Decreases