Preparing for Today’s Customers
Credit scores are used by service providers ranging from landlords to financial institutions. Each of these companies is looking for some measure of a person’s financial reliability. However, today, credit scores in the United States are becoming more polarized. The average credit score is falling while the percentage of people with credit scores over 750 is on the rise.
What Does This Mean?
Fewer Americans have mid-range credit. Instead, more FICO scores are falling into the super prime or subprime categories. Fico.com reported that 48.1% of consumers have a 750+ FICO score, up almost 5% since 2019.1 Meanwhile, the average FICO score has fallen 2 points in just the last year due to the growing segment of customers with lower credit scores.
Why Are There More People with High Credit Scores?
The shift can be traced back to events that happened during COVID-19. Many consumers’ credit benefited from the unique situation. Lockdowns and travel restrictions led to some people paying off credit cards rather than adding credit debt with vacations. Stimulus checks and a pause on federal student loan payments also contributed to lower debt to income ratios by increasing available funds for households and lessening the amount people put on credit cards.
Why Is the Overall Average Credit Score Falling?
Several factors contribute to decreasing average credit score in America. First, student loan payments resumed in 2023 and defaulted loans began showing up on credit reports in early 2025. Post pandemic inflation has seen some people relying on credit cards to close the gap in available funds and necessary purchases, resulting in high credit card utilization rates. The Federal Reserve has also noted that “after plummeting to all-time lows during the pandemic, delinquencies on credit cards and auto loan debt increased to levels not observed since the Great Financial Crisis.”2
How Could This Affect You?
Some customers can pay for home improvement projects with cash or savings. Many others rely on alternative solutions, such as credit cards, bank loans or even home refinancing. For customers with excellent credit, options may seem limitless. However, with more customers falling into the super prime credit tier, lenders could become more strict with their credit criteria, reserving their best rates for the very few. Customers with low scores may have more trouble than ever finding payment options for essential repairs and upgrades. The options they do find may outprice them from choosing more than the essentials, resulting in lower ticket sales for you.
What Can You Do About This?
Partner with Foundation Finance to offer competitive interest rates to customers with a wide range of credit profiles and FICOs as low as 550. Customers with FICOs starting at 725 may qualify for our Tier 1 program. These customers receive our best interest rates, access to all our special promotions and more. Prequalifying your customers is fast and easy! Learn if offering financing is right for you.
You can build on us.
Enroll in the Foundation Finance dealer network today.
Contact us for more info: 1-855-241-0024 or [email protected].
1 “FICO® Score Credit Insights Report: Average FICO Score Dips to 714.” Fico.com, 2026, www.fico.com/en/newsroom/fico-score-credit-insights-report-average-fico-score-dips-714. Accessed 21 May 2026.
2 Adams, Robert, et al. “A Note on Recent Dynamics of Consumer Delinquency Rates.” Federalreserve.gov, 24 Nov. 2025, www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/a-note-on-recent-dynamics-of-consumer-delinquency-rates-20251124.html.
