10 Cities With the Best and Worst Credit Scores

A new report by WalletHub shows that when it comes to solid credit, residents of several cities in Florida and California have the edge on the rest of the country.

The firm compared the median credit scores of residents in 2,572 U.S. cities, small medium, and large, and found a steady stretch of 700-plus credit ratings among residents almost all the way up the Atlantic coast. The cluster was especially thick in the southern Atlantic states, namely Florida and Georgia, and in metros known to be retirement hotspots.

Overall, The Villages, Florida, had the top median credit score in the United States. Its median score of 807 was, in fact, the only one above 800. Nearby Sun Center, Florida, finished second on the list, with a median credit rating of 789.

While two cities in Arizona (Sun City West and Green Valley) placed third and fourth, California saw seven towns in the top 25, more than any other state. Three cities in New York and Massachusetts also made the top 25.

The median credit rating for cities in the 99th percentile was around 770.

While California has the most cities in the 99th percentile (eight overall), few of the state's metros are along the Pacific coast. The largest clusters of California cities with high median credit scores are more inland. Coastal cities in California tended towards the bottom third percentile.

And while large clusters of Georgia proved to have high median scores, Georgia recorded the most metros—seven—in the bottom 1 percentile for credit scores. New Jersey saw five cities in the bottom 1 percentile and is home to the city with the country's worst median credit score. Camden posted a median score of 541. The city, along with East St. Louis, Illinois, are the only two cities in the United States with median credit scores below 550.

Among major cities, San Jose placed highest, but its placement (620th on the list) suggests that small and medium-sized cities are by far more likely to house residents with top-tier credit scores. That said, San Jose's median score was 722. That's about the median U.S. credit rating, judging by WalletHub's figures. Altogether, 1,075 cities had median credit scores above 700.

Detroit, at 552, was the major city with the lowest median rating. That's a tie for third-worst overall, with Chester, Pennsylvania, and Harvey, Illinois. Fifty-four cities had median scores below 600; Detroit was the only major city in that category.