Here's the average credit score for people who grew up in your area
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People who grew up in parts of the Upper Midwest and the Northeast tend to have relatively high credit scores in early middle-age, newly released data shows, while those from the South tend to have lower scores.
Why it matters: Credit scores can determine people's access to loans, housing, better interest rates and more — despite their flaws and biases.
Driving the news: The data for the above map comes from The Opportunity Atlas — a joint project from the U.S. Census Bureau and Opportunity Insights at Harvard University — and is based on anonymized info from a major credit bureau.
- The map shows average credit scores in 2020 by childhood county for people born 1978-1985, making them roughly 35-42 at the time of measurement.
- The result: a snapshot of people's credit scores based on where they grew up, not necessarily where they lived when the snapshot was taken.
Zoom in: People in the target age range who grew up in Slope County, North Dakota (757); Emmons County, North Dakota (754) and Sioux County, Iowa (752) had the highest average credit scores as of 2020.
- Those from East Carroll Parish, Louisiana (593); Allendale County, South Carolina (596) and Claiborne County, Mississippi (597) had the lowest.
Between the lines: A related Opportunity Insights study published in July found "significant differences in credit outcomes by race, class, and geography."
- "In particular, Black Americans, individuals from low-income families, and those who grew up in Appalachia or parts of the South are more likely to have lower credit scores and more limited access to credit."
- "These gaps emerge early, persist into adulthood, and remain stable through age 65."
The bottom line: Measurements based on your childhood neighborhood can reveal how the geographic roll of the dice may impact the course of your life, even if you're no longer there.
