Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com), the consumer’s credit advocate, today released its U.S. Credit Score Climate Report with trend data for July 2010. Nationally, credit card debt amongst consumers with a credit card decreased by one percent since June 2010. However, credit card debt is up nearly 14 percent since July 2009. In July, the average consumer with an account had:
- $7,752 in credit card debt
- $176,042 in home mortgage loans
- $51,807 in home equity
- $15,080 in auto loans
- $28,301 in student loans
Nationally, credit scores remained stable at 668, down one point since the end of January and down five points since July 2009.
“This month’s data succinctly illustrates the correlation between debt and credit score,” said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com. “Consumers have charged more on their credit cards and as a result, credit scores are lower. We suspect as consumers begin to pay down their debts, credit scores will start to increase again.”
Here are some other key findings:
- Consumers in Nevada and South Carolina paid down their credit card balances the most in July 2010. Credit card debt in both states is down more than five percent since June 2010.
- Consumers in New Jersey overtook California and Massachusetts as the state with the highest credit scores. The average consumer in New Jersey has a credit score of 687. Consumers in California and Massachusetts have credit scores of 685.
- Consumers in Oklahoma saw the biggest increase to their credit score in July with credit scores increasing four points to 652.
- Arkansas consumers had the lowest credit scores nationally in July 2010 with the average credit score being 30 points below the national average at 638.
Methodology
Each month, the Credit Karma U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. This month’s report includes a comparison of more than 132,500 CreditKarma.com user scores.
About Credit Karma
CreditKarma.com is a completely free credit management service that enables consumers to put their credit to work for their overall financial health. CreditKarma.com’s goal is to help its nearly 2 million users realize the everyday cost savings of having a good credit score by providing free credit scores, as well as a range of tools, resources and customized savings recommendations to help consumers improve their financial situation. For more information, visit www.creditkarma.com.