10 U.S. Cities with the Lowest Credit Scores
Posted on May 23rd, 2013
Here at Credit Karma we enjoy analyzing data every month. This allows us to get the pulse of how Americans are doing when it comes to their current debt and credit.
Last month we took a look at which U.S. cities have the lowest mortgage debt. This month we decided to look at cities with the lowest average credit score. * Is your city on this list?
- Jackson, MS – 606
- Detroit, MI – 612
- Memphis, TN – 620
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX – 622
- Baton Rouge, LA – 626
- Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL – 627
- Oklahoma City, OK – 627
- Birmingham- Hoover, AL – 628
- El Paso, TX – 630
- Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC – 630
Some Thoughts on the Numbers
Just because a city has a low average credit score, it doesn’t merely mean that its residents can’t pay their bills on time. There can be other underling factors; including a high number of foreclosures, a high unemployment rate or an overall low median household income.
Both Detroit, Michigan and Lakeland, Florida on our list also topped Realty Trac’s list for cities with highest foreclosure rates in 2012. Detroit ranked 39th in their October report and Lakeland ranked 5th in August with 1 in every 297 homes filing for foreclosure.
Although the overall economy is slowly getting better, most of the cities on our list have seen a decrease in their average credit score since last year. One of the reasons could be that credit scores are a tailing indicator, meaning that your current score indicates where you have been rather than where you are going. The residents of these cities are likely working to improve their credit situation following a difficult time for the economy.
Do you find these average scores surprising? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Amy Leone is the Public Relations Coordinator at Credit Karma. Before joining the team in June 2012 she spent most of her career as a TV news producer. When she’s not helping promote Credit Karma on a variety of media outlets, she’s probably out running or exploring her new state of California.
Follow Credit Karma!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CreditKarma
Twitter: http://twitter.com/creditkarma
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+creditkarma
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/creditkarma
*These numbers come from our April 2013 data. We took a look at the credit scores of the 1,615,960 of Credit Karma members total, ages 18 and above.
Filed under Credit Karma, Credit Score, credit karma data, data | No Comments »
10 U.S. Cities with the Lowest Credit Scores
Posted on May 23rd, 2013
Here at Credit Karma we enjoy analyzing data every month. This allows us to get the pulse of how Americans are doing when it comes to their current debt and credit.
Last month we took a look at which U.S. cities have the lowest mortgage debt. This month we decided to look at cities with the lowest average credit score. * Is your city on this list?
- Jackson, MS – 606
- Detroit, MI – 612
- Memphis, TN – 620
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX – 622
- Baton Rouge, LA – 626
- Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL – 627
- Oklahoma City, OK – 627
- Birmingham- Hoover, AL – 628
- El Paso, TX – 630
- Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC – 630
Some Thoughts on the Numbers
Just because a city has a low average credit score, it doesn’t merely mean that its residents can’t pay their bills on time. There can be other underling factors; including a high number of foreclosures, a high unemployment rate or an overall low median household income.
Both Detroit, Michigan and Lakeland, Florida on our list also topped Realty Trac’s list for cities with highest foreclosure rates in 2012. Detroit ranked 39th in their October report and Lakeland ranked 5th in August with 1 in every 297 homes filing for foreclosure.
Although the overall economy is slowly getting better, most of the cities on our list have seen a decrease in their average credit score since last year. One of the reasons could be that credit scores are a tailing indicator, meaning that your current score indicates where you have been rather than where you are going. The residents of these cities are likely working to improve their credit situation following a difficult time for the economy.
Do you find these average scores surprising? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Amy Leone is the Public Relations Coordinator at Credit Karma. Before joining the team in June 2012 she spent most of her career as a TV news producer. When she’s not helping promote Credit Karma on a variety of media outlets, she’s probably out running or exploring her new state of California.
Follow Credit Karma!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CreditKarma
Twitter: http://twitter.com/creditkarma
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+creditkarma
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/creditkarma
*These numbers come from our April 2013 data. We took a look at the credit scores of the 1,615,960 of Credit Karma members total, ages 18 and above.
Filed under Credit Karma, Credit Score, credit karma data, data | No Comments »