FICO® Score Credit Insights Report: Average FICO Score Holds Steady at 714 as Consumers Show Resilience
FICO's latest report highlights improving delinquency trends, strong consumer credit engagement and evolving borrowing patterns amid ongoing affordability challenges
BOZEMAN, Mont., August 25, 2026--FICO (NYSE:FICO), global analytics software leader, today released its Fall '26 edition of the FICO® Score Credit Insights report, showing the average U.S. FICO® Score held steady at 714, unchanged since October 2025 but down one point from a year ago, as student loan delinquency reporting matures and improving delinquency rates across every major loan type offset ongoing affordability pressure.
With FICO® Scores used by 90% of top U.S. lenders, the findings from the bi-annual FICO® Score Credit Insights report offer critical observations insight into where consumer credit health is holding firm, where affordability pressure is concentrated, and how lenders can identify responsible growth opportunities across an increasingly segmented credit landscape.
"Affordability is the defining story in our latest edition of the FICO Score Credit Insights report," said Ethan Dornhelm, head of scores analytics at FICO. "Costs have risen across nearly every credit product consumers use, and yet delinquency has improved or held steady across every major loan type. The stability of the national average FICO Score at 714 reflects the resilience many consumers continue to demonstrate. At the same time, the data shows that resilience isn't being tested equally, with lower-scoring and thin-file borrowers facing the greatest pressure."
Key findings from the FICO® Score Credit Insights fall 2026 report:
Average FICO® Score holds at 714: The national average FICO® Score was flat from October 2025 to April 2026, down one point year-over-year. That stability carries echoes of the K-shaped economy we reported in previous reports.
Delinquencies stable or improving across most products: Early-stage mortgage delinquency eased from 1.42% to 1.35% year-over-year, and auto 30-day delinquency improved five basis points to 2.6%. Bankcard and personal loan delinquency were largely unchanged.
Mortgage affordability pressures persist: The average monthly payment for a first-time homebuyer reached $2,563, a 57% increase since 2019 that has outpaced inflation since rates began climbing in 2022.
Younger generations continue to build credit strength: Gen Z and Millennials have posted the largest FICO® Score gains since before the pandemic — up 17 and 10 points, respectively — continuing a multi-year trend of building credit history and habits.
Pressure concentrated among lower-scoring borrowers: Mortgage balances for borrowers with FICO® Scores below 620 have grown 43% since April 2019, and auto loan balances for the lowest-scoring borrowers are up 36% — both outpacing the 30% inflation rate over the same period while higher-scoring borrowers tracked closer to it. That cost pressure is showing up in performance: subsequent 90-day-plus delinquency rates for both mortgage and auto rose exclusively in the lowest score bands, holding flat across every higher score range.
Student loan borrowers show diverging paths: Approximately 3.2 million consumers with a payment due had a recent student-loan delinquency and experienced an average 38-point year-over-year decline in their FICO® Score, while consistent payers gained 6 points and those without recent delinquency gained 16 points.