Cities with the Highest & Lowest Credit Scores in 2024 (2024)

If you’ve ever applied for a loan or credit card, you know that your credit score is more than just a three-digit number: it’s a representation of your financial habits and responsibility. And it tends to speak volumes, especially about how well you manage your debts.

But have you ever wondered how well your neighbors, your coworkers and the people you pass on the street handle their finances? Some cities’ residents have much higher credit scores than others. In this report, WalletHub compared the median credit scores of residents in 182 U.S. cities to give credit where credit is literally and figuratively due.

Curious to know how your own score compares with that of the average person in your town? Join the WalletHub community to access your free credit score and report, updated daily.

Main Findings

Cities with the Highest & Lowest Credit Scores

Notes: *No. 1 = Highest.

In-Depth Look at the Cities With the Highest Credit Scores

South Burlington, VT

South Burlington, VT residents have the highest average credit score in the country, at 736. That puts them into the excellent credit range. Since residents are so financially responsible, it’s not surprising that they also have high incomes. The median income is around $65,700, ranking 29th highest out of the 182 cities in our study.

South Burlington is a relatively small city, with only around 20,000 residents, and since people are handling their finances well, it’s no wonder why it’s also one of the happiest cities in America.

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco ties for second place among the cities with the highest credit scores, with the average resident boasting a score of 722. That’s quite impressive considering the fact that San Francisco is a big city of over 850,000 residents.

That said, the median income in San Francisco is still very high, at around $107,500, so most residents are actually doing pretty well for themselves, and their high credit scores show that they are managing their funds wisely.

Huntington Beach, CA

Huntington Beach, CA is tied for second place, with the average resident sporting a 722 credit score. This surfer’s paradise is a west coast city like San Francisco, but it has a much smaller population (just under 200,000) and a lower median income (around $86,000). This income is still higher than the average in many other cities, though.

Huntington Beach residents have high credit scores in large part due to the fact that they are good at money management, ranking in the top 350 when compared to more than 2,500 other cities.

Scottsdale, AZ

The average credit score in Scottsdale, AZ is 722, tying the city for second place. Scottsdale has a mid-sized population, with around 240,000 residents, and the median income in the city is close to $82,000, which is still relatively high, demonstrating that residents are financially successful.

Scottsdale residents’ responsible credit use and high incomes also make them great candidates to buy homes, which is further helped by the fact that Scottsdale has one of the best real-estate markets in America.

Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

• Always pay on time: Make at least the minimum payment on all of your credit accounts by the due date each month. One good way to make sure you pay on time is to set up automatic payments. As long as you have enough money to cover your payments in your linked bank account, you will always be on time.
• Keep credit utilization low: You should strive to use less than 30% of your credit limit at a time. Credit utilization is an important component in your credit score, and using a lot of your available credit at once is a red flag for lenders. The ideal credit utilization ratio is around 1% to 10%, but anything under 30% is fine. If you need to use more than that, just pay it off before your monthly billing period ends, as the final balance is what’s reported to the credit bureaus.
• Regularly check your credit reports: Monitor your credit reports from the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) regularly to identify any errors or inaccuracies. Dispute any discrepancies promptly to ensure the accuracy of your credit report, which can positively impact your credit score. You can view your TransUnion credit report for free on WalletHub and get daily updates.
• Avoid opening multiple accounts at once: Limit the number of new credit accounts you open within a short period. Each new account application triggers a hard inquiry, which can temporarily lower your credit score. It’s best to wait at least six months between applications to give your score time to recover.
• Don’t close unused accounts: The length of your credit history is an important component in your credit score. Closing older credit cards or lines of credit that you no longer use can shorten your average account age and have a negative impact on your credit score. Keeping accounts that you don’t use open with a $0 balance will still help your credit score. If you have accounts with an annual fee that you don’t use, though, it’s better to close them and not pay money each year. You can estimate the impact that closing an account would have on your credit score by using WalletHub’s free credit score simulator.

Ask the Experts

Improving one’s credit score is a different process for everyone, depending both on circ*mstances and spending habits. For advice on how to start, we turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. What tips do you have for a person trying to increase their credit score quickly?
2. What are some commonly held misconceptions about how credit scores are calculated?
3. What are the most common mistakes people make when trying to improve their credit score?
4. What is the best way for a young person to build credit?
5. What are some strategies for people who are facing financial difficulties to protect their credit scores?

Methodology

In order to identify the cities with the highest and lowest credit scores, WalletHub compared the median credit scores of residents in each of 182 U.S. cities as of Q4 2023, based on WalletHub’s proprietary data. A rank of “1” corresponds with the city with the highest credit score. In determining our sample, we considered only the city proper in each case and excluded cities in the surrounding metro area.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of February 22, 2024 from WalletHub data.

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