2021 Credit Trends in the US by City and State

As of April 2021, the average FICO® Score sits at 716, an increase of eight points compared to April 2020 around the time the economic shutdown driven by COVID-19 began in earnest. While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in economic hardship for many people, it also changed the credit behaviors of millions of consumers as well as led to the deployment of payment accommodations offered by lenders to help impacted customers’ debts.

This recent increase in the average score is reflective, in part, of impacts and changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on US consumers’ credit behaviors as observed in the underlying credit report data over the April 2020–April 2021 time period. While April 2020 was technically post the onset of the pandemic, credit reports as of April 2020 didn’t yet reflect the impacts of the pandemic. Those impacts started showing up in earnest in May, and really peaked in terms of payment accommodation reporting in approximately the July timeframe.

• Find out which states have experienced the biggest year-over-year FICO score increase
• Find out which major city residents are applying for credit most frequently
• Gain insights on how US cities compare on key credit metrics