U.S. consumers’ average credit score last month dropped two points to 667 from a year earlier, as average credit card debt fell by 9% to $7,200 during the same period, according to data Credit Karma released Feb. 10.
Each month, the CreditKarma.com U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its credit-management service user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days previously and no more than 90 days before the stated month. The January 2011 report includes a comparison of more than 157,588 CreditKarma.com user scores.
In its report this week, CreditKarma says consumers in six metropolitan statistical areas had a credit score decrease greater than the national average, including Chicago, Houston and Seattle, down three points; New York, down four points; and Los Angeles and Philadelphia, down five points.
That the average national credit score dropped only slightly shows that “consumers are making efforts to take control of their debt,” says Ken Lin, CEO of the San Francisco-based company. “The data suggest if consumers maintain this path of financial responsibility, the downward trend for credit scores will continue to slow and ultimately will begin to increase again.”
Massachusetts has the highest credit score nationally, averaging 685. Seven states continue to have fair to poor credit scores of 650 or lower, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Mississippi ranked lowest at 631.
Consumers in only two states increased their card debt since last January–New Mexico, up 3%, and North Dakota, up 2%.
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