FICO analysis shows that more than eight million borrowers are potentially impacted by new student loan delinquencies, partly driving the two point drop of the average U.S. FICO® Score
Global analytics software leader FICO (NYSE:FICO), today announced that the national average U.S. FICO® Score stands at 715. This marks a decline of one point from January 2025 and a two-point drop from April 2024, partly driven by the resumption of federal student loan delinquency reporting on U.S. consumers' credit.
FICO® Scores power lending decisions for 90% of the top U.S. lenders, serving as the go-to benchmark for assessing consumer credit risk. As consumer behavior shifts, FICO Scores reflect these changes through data reported by the three main credit bureaus. FICO publishes the national average score on a regular basis, providing a pulse on the state of consumer credit in the United States.
"FICO remains committed to providing the industry with reliable, independent insights that help lenders make informed decisions and empower consumers to understand and manage their credit," said Tommy Lee, senior director of Scores and Predictive Analytics at FICO. "The modest decline in the national average FICO Score is consistent with the anticipated effects of resuming student loan delinquency reporting. As we move through 2025, we'll continue to monitor how consumers navigate the post-forbearance credit environment as well as the ongoing economic uncertainty."
Key factors impacting the average U.S. FICO® Score in 2025:
- Resumption of Student Loan Reporting: Following a multi-year pause under the CARES Act and a one-year "on-ramp" grace period by the Department of Education, as of February 2025 federal student loan delinquencies are once again reported on credit files.
- Rising Delinquencies: The share of consumers with a 90+ day delinquency in the past six months increased from 7.4% in January to 8.3% in February—a 12% relative rise, and the first time this figure has surpassed pre-pandemic levels (8.1% in January 2020).
- Credit Utilization Decreasing: Despite the rise in delinquencies, some consumers experienced modest improvements in credit utilization—a key metric representing 30% of the FICO® Score. Average credit card utilization decreased from January to February due to seasonal reductions in credit card balances following holiday spending, helping to partially offset the score decline.
Full analysis on the average U.S. FICO® Score is available here: https://www.fico.com/blogs/student-loan-delinquencies-lower-average-fico-score-715
About FICO
FICO (NYSE:FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.
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