{"id":290,"date":"2026-05-23T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T15:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=290"},"modified":"2026-05-23T15:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T15:36:59","slug":"californians-credit-scores-rank-21st-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=290","title":{"rendered":"Californians\u2019 credit scores rank 21st in US"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Despite the often oppressive cost of California living, the state\u2019s residents surprisingly carry solid credit scores.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=288\">California FAIR Plan rates going up 29.1% in late 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>My trusty spreadsheet looked at stats from Fair Issac, the creator of the \u201cFICO\u201d credit score, to judge California\u2019s bill-paying habits on a national level. Bankers use these credit grades to estimate their chances of being repaid by borrowers.<\/p>\n<p>The stats show the average Californian has a credit score of 723 \u2013 just above the 50-state median of 722 and the 21st-highest among states.<\/p>\n<p>If you didn\u2019t know, credit scores range from a high of 850 to a low of 300, with California\u2019s score falling within the \u201cgood\u201d range.<\/p>\n<p>Top scores were found in Minnesota at 742, Vermont at 740,\u00a0Wisconsin at 739,\u00a0New Hampshire at 738 and\u00a0Washington state at 736.<\/p>\n<p>The lowest scores were in Mississippi at 676,\u00a0Louisiana at 686,\u00a0Alabama at 691,\u00a0Georgia at 692 and\u00a0Oklahoma at 695.<\/p>\n<p>As for California\u2019s economic rivals, the typical Texan\u2019s score was 695, ranking No. 45. A\u00a0Floridian? 705, ranking No. 38.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=286\">12-year-old boy, parents cited after youth stopped in Danville riding electric motorcycle<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The bill-paying abilities of Californians have also been improving at an above-average pace. Look at the recent scores compared with 2020.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>California\u2019s average rose by 7 points, tying with six states for the ninth-biggest improvement, including Texas. Florida was up 4, the No. 35 gain. The median state move was a five-point improvement.<\/p>\n<p>Biggest improvements? Maine, up 12, Idaho, up 11, and New Mexico and South Carolina, up 10.<\/p>\n<p>Smallest improvements? Mississippi, up 1, and Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, up 2.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=282\">Gianna Willes\u2019 bases-clearing double, HR power Livermore past Liberty in NCS quarterfinals<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The stats show that the average Californian has a credit score of 723 \u2013 just above the 50-state median of 722.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Californians\u2019 credit scores rank 21st in US - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=290\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Californians\u2019 credit scores rank 21st in US - 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