The average U.S. FICO credit score stands at 714, down one point from a year ago but unchanged from October 2025, according to a new FICO® Score Credit Insights report. While the headline number appears stable, experts say it masks mounting affordability pressures and illustrates how rising costs are shaping Americans' financial decisions.

A FICO credit score is a three-digit number that reflects the information in consumers' credit reports, taking into account payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix. Lenders use the score to determine whether applicants qualify for mortgages, credit cards, loans, and other credit products. FICO says its scores are used in most U.S. consumer lending decisions, which makes the national average a widely watched barometer of household credit health — and one that has moved within a narrow band for years even as the economy passed through pandemic disruptions and the inflation that followed.

The report serves as a snapshot of consumer credit health at a moment when rising costs tied to auto loans, housing, and credit cards are putting pressure on household budgets.

Affordability remains a strain

Affordability continues to be a struggle for many Americans, particularly among lower-scoring and thin-file borrowers — consumers with limited credit histories.

The report showed that the average monthly payment for a first-time home buyer has increased 57% since 2019, while mortgage balances for borrowers with scores below 620 have grown 43% since April 2019.

Auto loan balances for the lowest-scoring borrowers were also up 36%. Notably, subsequent 90-plus-day delinquency rates for both mortgages and auto loans rose exclusively in the lowest-score bands, remaining flat across all higher score ranges.

"The stability we're seeing in the national average FICO score isn't necessarily because things have gotten easier for consumers — costs have risen across nearly every credit product people use, from mortgages to auto loans to credit cards," said Tommy Lee, senior director at FICO. "What's kept the average steady is that delinquency has actually improved or held steady across every major loan type. That's a story about financial discipline under pressure, not economic ease."

Indeed, delinquency remained stable or improved across most products, according to the FICO report. The share of mortgage borrowers in early-stage delinquency eased from 1.42% to 1.35% year over year, while 30-day auto delinquency improved by 5 basis points to 2.6%.

The findings come on the heels of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's quarterly report on household debt and credit, which showed that credit card balances rose by $21 billion to stand at $1.26 trillion — a 1.7% increase from the previous quarter and nearing last year's high of $1.28 trillion. That report tracks roughly $18 trillion in total U.S. household debt spanning mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and student loans, and because both it and FICO's score insights are published on a recurring schedule, whether the broad improvement in delinquencies holds — and whether strain deepens in the lowest-score bands — will be visible in coming updates rather than only in the headline average.

Coping strategies and credit monitoring

To cover costs, some of the strategies Americans are using include buy now, pay later services to keep large expenses from straining their budgets, as well as relying on others for ongoing financial support. Most buy now, pay later loans historically have not been reported to the major credit bureaus, meaning heavy use of these services may not appear in the credit files behind FICO scores — though bureaus and scoring firms have begun efforts to incorporate more of this data.

Even so, many Americans appear to still be prioritizing their financial health. Nearly three-quarters of Americans check their FICO scores multiple times a year, according to the report.

"Younger consumers in particular are treating credit as a tool they're actively managing, not something that happens to them," Lee said. "That said, things have not been easy for younger generations."

He noted that about 74% of Gen Z consumers rely on some form of financial support, most often from parents. More broadly, 37% of all Americans say the same, with 19% citing parents specifically.

"And 68% of Gen Z homeowners told us housing costs have made it harder to keep up with other expenses," Lee said. "The credit gains are real, but they're happening alongside — not in spite of — meaningful financial strain."

Tips to build and maintain a healthy FICO score

According to FICO, most creditors will consider scores "good" if they fall between 670 and 739, on a scale of 300 to 850. Higher scores signal a lower-risk applicant, while lower scores signal a higher-risk applicant.

Among the practices FICO identifies for building and maintaining a healthy score:

• Making payments on time. Payment history is the most heavily weighted factor in score calculations, so it is important to make payments on time and avoid late or missed payments, defaults, charge-offs, collections, bankruptcies, and foreclosures.
• Making more than the minimum payment to reduce credit utilization. Amounts owed — how much of your available credit you are using — is the second most important factor in a FICO score. Working to reduce balances by making extra payments or paying more than the minimum amount can boost a score.
• Limiting new credit applications. Each time a consumer applies for a new credit card or loan, it results in a hard inquiry. Too many hard inquiries in a short amount of time can negatively impact a score, so it is best to avoid new applications unless absolutely necessary.