The average consumer in the U.S. holds about two bank-issued credit cards and has a total credit card balance of $5,551, according to latest State of Credit report from Experian. That number represents 30 percent the average total available credit.
It turns out that consumers in some states are doing better than others in handling all that debt, with the report providing a ranking of which states have residents with the highest credit scores.
The credit scores of Americans have been on the rise—and so have credit card delinquencies, according to the report. Repossession rates are elevated from years of subprime auto lending, and 44 million Americans owe $1.4 trillion in student debt. One-third of Americans said they paid their student loans late at least one time last year, according to the report.
In 2017, the average Vantage score was 675, just four points from the pre-financial crisis average of 679. The Vantage Score is a scoring model developed by Experian, Equifax, and Transunion to determine consumer credit worthiness. Scores have increased each year since 2013, and consumer confidence rose to a 17-year high at the end of last year, according to the study.
In fact, more Americans now have ultra-high scores over 781 (22.3 percent) than those who have severely low scores below 600 (21.2 percent). In terms of average consumer scores, some states are doing better than others.
Here is a list of the states with the highest average credit scores:
10. Hawaii
Vantage Score: 693
Consumers in Hawaii carry a credit card balance of $6,410.
9. Nebraska
Vantage Score: 695
Nebraskans ranked ninth for carrying the lowest credit card balances, with an average balance of $5,630.
8. Iowa
Vantage Score: 695
Residents in Iowa have the lowest credit card balances in the nation, with a total of $5,155 on average.
7. Wisconsin
Vantage Score: 696
There are 150 municipalities in Wisconsin where residents have an average credit score of over 720, according to recent data from Onboard Informatics and Experian.
6. North Dakota
Vantage Score: 697
Consumers in North Dakota have lower debt levels and considerably fewer complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as compared to other states, according to recent reports from the Department of Consumer Finance.
5. Massachusetts
Vantage Score: 699
Massachusetts has some of the most strict security and consumer protection regulations in the country. The Massachusetts Attorney General sued Equifax for its violation of the Consumer Protection Act, according to a report from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
4. South Dakota
Vantage Score: 700
Consumers in South Dakota have 2.8 credit cards on average (as compared with the national average of 3.1 credit cards).
3. New Hampshire
Vantage Score: 701
Of the top five states with the highest scores, consumers in New Hampshire carry the highest average balances on their credit cards ($6,490).
2. Vermont
Vantage Score: 702
There may be a connection between cold weather and good credit, according to the study. Vermont, along with New Hampshire (701), South Dakota (700), and Massachusetts (699), are all among the top five states with high credit scores, all in cold-weather regions—in addition to one other northern state ...
1. Minnesota
Vantage Score: 709
Minnesotans have the highest credit scores in the U.S. The state is followed by the additional cold-weather states to round out the top five.