Answer (courtesy of Yahoo Finance): 699 (in April 2016); a record high, according to the credit reporting agency

What explains this record (again from Yahoo Finance)?

The national average FICO score hit 699 in April, up nine points since October 2006, per the table below. That’s also a three-point improvement over the national average from just six months prior in October 2015. The continued climb is due to low rates of default across credit cards and other consumer loan products, according to Ethan Dornhelm, a principal data scientist at FICO.

“We are now seven years past the nadir of the Great Recession in 2008-2009, which means that, per the Fair Credit Reporting Act mandate, all derogatory payment information from the spike in foreclosures and defaults must now be removed from consumers’ credit files,” Dornhelm said in an email. “Plus, there continues to be a steady decrease in the percentage of consumers with recent serious delinquencies (defined as 90-plus days past due). Because payment history comprises roughly 35% of the overall FICO Score calculation, this sustained reduction in delinquency is clearly a key driver of the ongoing upswing.”

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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