Key insights
- US average credit scores declined slightly due to rising student loan and mortgage delinquencies. The end of the student loan payment pause and on-ramp period led to a sharp increase in student loan delinquencies. Eroding credit scores signal growing financial stress among consumers, potentially dampening consumer spending and negatively impacting economic growth. High levels of student loan defaults are also a concern.
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The average credit score fell in 2025, as more borrowers became delinquent on their student loan and mortgage payments.
According to a newly released FICO report, the average credit score was 714 in October 2025, down one point from April 2025.
"The resumption of required student loan payments and a continued, modest rise in mortgage delinquencies nudged the average score slightly lower," said Ethan Dornhelm, head of scores analytics at FICO, in the release.
Eroding credit scores may signal growing financial stress among U.S. consumers and could dampen consumer spending, a key driver of economic growth.
Student loan payments were paused between 2020 and 2023 due to the pandemic. Borrowers then had an on-ramp period during which late or missed payments were not counted as delinquent or reported to the credit bureaus, which ended in September 2024.
Since then, delinquencies have been on the rise, as borrowers' late or missed payments are now being reported to the credit reporting companies.
The FICO report found 11% of student loan borrowers were 90 days or more delinquent on their loans as of October 2025, up sharply from just 0.8% in October 2024, shortly after the on-ramp period ended.
When late payments are reported to the credit bureaus, it can harm a borrower’s credit score. According to FICO, borrowers who had a new delinquency reported on their credit file experienced an average 62-point drop in their credit score since January 2025.
And if a borrower remains delinquent, they can end up in default.
A borrower who is in default can have their wages garnished, their tax refunds withheld, and even be sued by their lender.
Recent data from the Department of Education indicates that 7.7 million federal student loan borrowers were considered in default as of December 2025. This is roughly the same number of borrowers who were in default in December 2019, before the payment pause occurred.
Student loans aren’t the only type of debt weighing on consumers.
In the FICO report, 4.8% of borrowers were 30 days or more delinquent on their mortgages in October 2025, up from 2.7% in October 2021.
According to FICO, more mortgage borrowers are delinquent now than in 2021 because past borrowers benefited from rising home prices, which allowed them to tap their home equity when needed, and from low interest rates, which made refinancing more appealing.