Student Loan Delinquencies Lower the Average FICO Score to 715

The national average FICO® Score is the standard metric of U.S. consumers' credit health. As the independent, reliable measure of U.S. consumer credit risk, FICO Scores set the standard for lenders to make accurate and objective credit risk decisions and help more people gain fair access to home and auto loans, lines of credit and other financial services.

FICO® Scores are dynamic three-digit numbers ranging from 300 to 850, which evolve as borrower behavior is updated in the data maintained by the three primary U.S. consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. As of February, the national average FICO Score stands at 715, reflecting a one-point drop from January 2025 and a two-point decline from April 2024. The change is partly due to recent reporting of federal student loan delinquencies on credit files for the first time since March 2020. At that time, the CARES Act placed federal student loans into forbearance, with the pause lasting until October 2023. Even after payments on federal student loans resumed in late 2023, delinquencies were not immediately reported on credit files due to the one-year "on ramp" period introduced by the Department of Education. Add in the fact that federal student loan delinquencies are not reported until they are 90 days past due and federal student loan delinquencies have only just started showing up in the credit report again as of February 2025.

With student loan delinquencies now being reported, let's dive into how the underlying credit metrics that drive the FICO® Score calculation changed from January to February 2025, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: FICO® Score credit metrics over time.

Recent severe delinquencies are now higher than pre-pandemic.

Making payments on time is the most important category of the FICO® Score, consisting of approximately 35% of the score calculation, so it is not surprising that the average credit score decreased when recent severe delinquencies increased in February 2025. In particular, the proportion of the population with a 90+ day delinquency in the last six months jumped from 7.4% in January 2025 to 8.3% in February 2025, a relative increase of 12.0%, because of the start of student loan delinquency reporting. This number is now above the pre-pandemic benchmark of 8.1% in January 2020 for the first time since the pandemic began. Lenders often use a pre-pandemic time period for benchmark comparisons since the pandemic led to unusual changes in the economy and credit reporting, such as government stimulus and payment accommodations. The table above also illustrates that the month-over-month increase in the 30+ day delinquency metric is being driven largely by missed student loan payments as opposed to delinquency on other credit products such as auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages.

It is important to note that additional student loan delinquencies are expected over the next few months, as not everyone who has missed student loan payments has been reported as delinquent yet. As seen in figure 2, while roughly 2.7 million borrowers had a new student loan delinquency reported as of February 2025, an additional 5.4 million consumers had no student loan delinquency reported yet, even though they have not made any student loan payments since October 2024 and they had payments due. These borrowers are susceptible to having their credit score impacted if they fail to make payments and a new 90-day student loan delinquency is reported on their credit file. These additional delinquencies could lead to further declines in the average FICO® Score over the next few months. On the other hand, approximately 12.4 million borrowers have made at least one payment on their student loan since October 2024 and are in good position to maintain or improve their credit score provided they continue to make timely payments.

Figure 2. Payment trends for student loan borrowers with payments due

Consumer debt is now higher than pre-pandemic

The second most important category of the FICO Score is amounts owed, which makes up approximately 30% of the score calculation. Within this category, one of the most important characteristics is credit card utilization, calculated as credit card balances divided by credit limits. The average credit card utilization is 36.1% in February 2025, higher than the pre-pandemic benchmark of 35.0% in January 2020. However, it's also worth noting that utilization decreased by a relative 1.4% from January to February because credit card balances decreased by 3.8% over that same time period. This balance reduction is largely attributable to seasonality, as the holiday shopping that occurs in November and December is reflected in credit card balances in January. By February, many consumers have paid off their holiday spending, leading to credit card balance decreases between January and February. This suggests that the average FICO Score decline from January to February driven by new student loan delinquencies was somewhat mitigated by the improvement (decline) in consumers' credit card utilization.

What's next?

Overall, the credit health of many consumers remains strong as the average credit score of 715 is still near historical highs. However, the average FICO Score is a lagging indicator of credit health, and there are certainly many risks to the average credit score going forward. Some of these risks include uncertainty in the economy and the persistent economic strain consumers are facing because of higher prices caused by inflation. Additionally, while some additional student loan delinquencies are expected in the upcoming months, there is a chance that student loan delinquencies could increase even more than anticipated due to changes in the availability of income driven repayment plans for borrowers.

FICO will continue to closely monitor and share these credit score trends with the industry, and remains committed to helping lenders make better-informed lending decisions through a better understanding of the credit risk that each borrower represents. FICO is also committed, through portals such as myFICO.com and programs such as Score a Better Future and FICO® Score Open Access, to educate and empower consumers, helping them manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals. We continue to invest heavily in safe and responsible financial inclusion products by offering alternative data-driven solutions such as FICO® Score XD and the UltraFICO® Score to provide millions of borrowers with an onramp to mainstream credit access.

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