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Examining Credit State By State

A recent study by LendEDU examines how credit changed by state surrounding the election. Using  Experian's Premier Aggregated Credit Statistics dataset used to find the VantageScore 3.0 credit scores for given locations, the purpose of LendEDU’s study was to examine the difference in credit between red and blue states.

According to LendEDU, average credit score is invaluable in determining the economic outlook of a state, representing the financial health of the states residents. If a state experiences rising unemployment, falling income levels, and increases in defaults on mortgages and loans, the average credit score of that state will drop.

What LendEDU found was that many swing states saw decreases in credit before the election, states that turned red going into the election had experienced economic hardships. In Ohio, the average state credit score fell from 690 in 2012 to 683 in 2016. In Pennsylvania, the average state credit score dropped from 700 in 2012 to 694 in 2016. In Michigan, the average state credit score lowered from 688 in 2012 to 682 in 2016. In North Carolina, the average state credit score fell from 679 in 2012 to 672 in 2016. In Florida, the average state credit score decreased from 678 in 2012 to 672 in 2016. Finally, in Iowa, the average state credit score lowered slightly from 708 in 2012 to 707 in 2016.

Experian’s data puts Minnesota at the top with an average credit score of 718. The top three metros with the highest credit scores were all in Minnesota: Mankato, Rochester, and Minneapolis. Nationally, the VantageScore average grew from 669 to 673 in 2016.

The hardest hit states that year credit wise were Texas and Louisiana, with 3 cities each in Experian’s list of lowest credit scores by city.

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a contributing writer for DS News. He is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing, and has studied abroad in Athens, Greece. An East Texas native, he also works part-time as a photographer.
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