Highest Credit Scores Belong To Which State?

Credit scores of American consumers continue to decline on average, but the highest credit scores belong to which state? The answer is California where the average credit score is 684, according to a survey, conducted by Credit Karma, of over 180,000 consumers. This highest credit score of 684 is good, not great and if that is the best our fifty states have to offer, then the rest of America must be in rough shape. Massachusetts deserves an honorable mention as their residents have among the highest credit scores, similar to California.

U.S. National Average Credit Score
The average credit score of all Americans has declined to 665 which is borderline good credit. What is ironic is that Americans have been diligently lowering their credit card balances which boosts credit scores. In fact, DailyDollar offered congratulations to U.S. credit card customers in March when statistics were released by credit reporting agency TransUnion about decreasing credit card balances. "Despite consumers' best efforts to reduce debt, credit scores continue to decline," said Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma. "These lowered scores could be the result of larger economic pressures such as the housing market slump and sustained high unemployment."

States With Lowest Credit Scores

Now that you know which state has the highest credit scores, let's look at the flip side of the coin. The average credit score stats were the lowest in Mississippi (632). Earlier this year, DailyDollar shared information about a new Mississippi payday loan law that lowers fees for consumers. However, most payday loan companies do not report loan and payment activity to the major credit bureaus so despite having access to cheaper loans, it is not likely to help Mississippi residents improve their credit scores.

There are eight additional states that Credit Karma reports have fair to poor credit scores (650 or less) including:

Alabama
West Virginia
Tennessee
Arkansas
South Carolina
Kentucky
Louisiana
Oklahoma

The credit scores of Florida consumers fell too. The average Florida credit score was 656 ranking the state 32nd in the nation. That is a drop from 662 in the same month last year. Like many other states, Florida has suffered from high unemployment and foreclosures.

Your Takeaway From This Credit Score News
Now that you know the highest credit scores belong to which state, what can you do with that information? Although it makes more interesting reading, credit scores are a very personal thing. Just because you may live in a low credit score state does not mean you can't break the trend and build yourself an impressive credit score. Follow our 3 steps to rebuild your credit score and take charge of regaining control of your monthly payments.