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Average
Credit Use
As a company that
helps the nation's largest banks and financial
institutions assess credit risk, Fair, Isaac is
often asked to describe the credit use of a typical
consumer. In researching the answer, we discovered
that consumers vary immensely in what types of
credit they use and how they use it.
By analyzing a
large sample of credit file information on people
who recently obtained new credit, Fair, Isaac was
able to survey the panorama of credit activity
across the U.S. The following statistics reflect the
average use of credit by today's consumers.
Number of
Credit Obligations
On average, today's consumer has a total of 11
credit obligations on record at a credit bureau.
These include credit cards (such as department store
charge cards, gas cards, or bank cards) and
installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans,
student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and
checking accounts (typically not reported to a
credit bureau). Of these 11 credit obligations, 7
are likely to be credit cards and 4 are likely to be
installment loans.
Past Payment
Performance
On average, today's consumers are paying their bills
on time. Fewer than 4 out of 10 have ever been
reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only
2 out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue
on any credit obligation. 85% of all consumers have
never had a loan or account that was 90+ days
overdue, and less than 10% have ever had a loan or
account closed by the lender due to default.
Credit
Utilization
About 48% of credit card holders carry a balance of
less than $1,000. About 10% are far less
conservative in their use of credit cards and have
total card balances in excess of $10,000. When we
look at the total of all credit obligations combined
(except mortgage loans), 54% of consumers carry less
than $5,000 of debt. This includes all credit cards,
lines of credit, and loans-everything but mortgages.
Nearly 30% carry more than $10,000 of
non-mortgage-related debt as reported to the credit
bureaus.
Total Available
Credit
The typical consumer has access to $12,190 on all
credit cards combined. More than half of all people
with credit cards are using less than 30% of their
total credit card limit. Just over 1 in 8 are using
80% or more of their credit card limit.
Length of
Credit History
The average consumer's oldest obligation is 13 years
old, indicating that he or she has been managing
credit for some time. In fact, we found that 1 out
of 5 consumers who recently applied for credit, had
credit histories of 20 years or longer. Only 1 in 20
consumers had credit histories shorter than 2 years.
Inquiries
When someone applies for a loan or a new credit card
account - in short, any time one applies for credit
and a lender requests a copy of the credit report
— this request is noted as an "inquiry"
in the applicant's credit file. The average consumer
has had only one inquiry on his or her accounts
within the past year. Fewer than 7% had four or more
inquiries resulting from a search for new credit.
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