A 35-year-old who checks their credit score and sees 689 is sitting right on the average for Millennials, the generation group that covers ages 29 to 44. The national average is 713, and 689 lands in the “good” range of 670 to 739 on the FICO scale.
Credit scores are not reported by exact age. The figures come in generation groups, so 689 is an average for everyone from 29 to 44, and a 30-year-old and a 43-year-old are counted together. Gen X, the next group up at ages 45 to 60, averages 709, and the numbers reflect a snapshot taken in September 2025.
A score also says nothing about how much money someone has. Income, savings and checking balances, and investments are not part of a credit report, so a 689 can belong to someone with a healthy emergency fund or someone with none.
Where the average sits from the 20s to the 80s
Each generation group has its own average. Gen Z, ages 18 to 28, averages 678, Millennials average 689, Gen X averages 709, baby boomers aged 61 to 79 average 747, and the Silent Generation, 80 and older, averages 760. Anyone in their 70s falls inside the baby boomer group, which means the number for that decade is blended with people in their early 60s.
The averages moved only slightly in the past year. Gen Z slipped from 681 to 678 and Millennials from 691 to 689, while Gen X stayed at 709 and boomers rose a point. Lines between groups also shift depending on who is counting, since another recent report places Millennials at ages 30 to 45.
None of the five categories that make up a FICO score is age. Older groups likely score higher because they have had more years to build long histories and pay down balances, which is a different thing from being older.
Why a credit score is not a wealth measure
A credit report lists accounts, balances owed, payment history, collections, bankruptcies, and who has requested the report. It leaves out income, bank balances, and investments, and since income is not part of your credit report, it is never a factor in calculating your credit scores. Someone earning a high salary can have a mediocre score because of late payments, and someone living on a modest income can have an excellent one after years of paying every bill on time.
What the number measures is how reliably borrowed money has been repaid and how much of the available credit is in use. Lenders use credit reports to decide whether to lend and what interest rate to offer, which is the job a score does. It says nothing about retirement savings, an emergency fund, or whether the monthly budget works, so a 760 is not proof that someone is financially secure and a 650 is not proof that they are not.
Payment history and balances do most of the work
Payment history makes up 35% of a FICO score and amounts owed make up 30%, which puts nearly two-thirds of the score in those two categories. A few late payments are not an automatic score-killer, though a late payment stays on credit reports for seven years. A recent report found that about 3.2 million consumers with a recent student loan delinquency saw an average 38-point drop, while consistent payers gained 6 points.
Balances are measured as a utilization ratio, which divides what is owed on credit cards by the credit limits. A ratio under 10% is generally best, 30% is a common target but not a hard cutoff, and the average was 28.3% in March 2026. Issuers usually report the balance near the end of the statement period, so a card paid in full on the due date can still show a high ratio if the balance was large when the statement closed.
Account age, new applications and credit mix
The length of credit history is 15% of a FICO score, and a longer history is a plus, though a good score does not require one. New credit counts for 10%, and opening several new accounts in a short period represents greater risk. FICO scores only consider inquiries from the last 12 months, even though a hard inquiry stays on a report for two years.
Shopping for one loan is treated differently from applying for many cards. Older versions of FICO allow a 14-day span for rate shopping, and newer versions allow 45 days, with the inquiries for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan counted as one. Credit mix, meaning the types of accounts someone holds, is the last 10%, and it is not necessary to have one of each. Because a good score does not require a long history or a perfect mix, a person with a handful of well-managed accounts can still score well. Rate-shopping inquiries less than 30 days old are ignored when the score is calculated, which leaves time to compare offers.
What matters at 35 with a mortgage, a car loan and other debt
People around 35 often carry a mortgage, a car payment, student loans, and a couple of credit cards at once, and each one reports to the bureaus every month. Since payment history is the biggest category, setting every loan to autopay for at least the minimum is the most effective single habit, student loans included given the 38-point drops among borrowers who fell behind.
Large loans call for a different approach to shopping. Gathering quotes for a mortgage or car loan within a short window, ideally 14 days since some lenders still use older scoring versions, keeps the inquiries from piling up. Opening a store card for a one-time discount in the weeks before applying for a mortgage adds an inquiry and a new account at exactly the wrong time. Utilization is calculated from revolving balances, so keeping credit card balances low matters even when the mortgage and car loan are still large.
Why a long history helps but does not protect anyone
Older borrowers get a real advantage from the 15% that goes to the length of credit history, but payment history and amounts owed count for much more. One stretch of missed payments, a maxed-out card, or a bankruptcy can undo years of progress, since a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on reports for 10 years. Late payments and collections each stay for seven years from the original delinquency, so a rough patch at 40 can still be showing at 47.
Closing accounts is another way to lose ground. FICO scores still count historically missed payments reported on a closed account, and closing a card removes its limit from the total, which can push utilization up. Identity theft can damage a score without any mistake by the account holder, because a thief can open accounts in someone’s name and leave them unpaid. A credit freeze is free, does not affect the score, and keeps anyone from opening a new credit account in your name.
When the mortgage is paid off and the cards sit in a drawer
Paying off a mortgage ends the monthly payment, but the account does not vanish from the report. Closed accounts in good standing stay on credit reports for 10 years after the payoff date, and they keep contributing to the length of history in the meantime. After that, the oldest accounts that remain open carry the history, which makes the oldest card the one most worth keeping. A person whose only long-running accounts were a mortgage and a card that was later closed could have little left to show once those 10 years pass.
Issuers are allowed to close unused cards. Card issuers can close inactive accounts with no warning, and there is no industry-wide policy on when a card counts as inactive. In one example, a closed card pushed utilization from 26% to 37.5%. A small purchase every few months paid off in full keeps the account active, and a missed payment on that card would cause more damage than closing it would have.
Why credit still matters at 70 and beyond
Averages for people in their 70s and 80s are high, at 747 for boomers and 760 for the Silent Generation, but the score keeps doing work after the last big loan is gone. Insurance is one example, since an estimated 95% of auto insurers and 85% of homeowners insurers use credit-based insurance scores in states where the practice is allowed, and in most states insurers cannot use the score as the sole reason to raise rates.
Housing is another, because landlords and utility providers may check credit reports, which matters for someone who sells a house and rents. A roof replacement, a car that dies, or a medical bill that needs financing can show up at any age, and lenders use the same reports to set terms. Fraud is the third reason. A freeze lasts until it is lifted, and an extended fraud alert, available after identity theft, lasts seven years.
How to check your credit reports
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to fill free credit report orders, and the bureaus have permanently extended a program that allows a free report from each one once a week. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are separate files, and creditors are not required to report to every credit reporting company, so the three reports can differ. Online orders are available immediately, while phone and mail orders are processed within 15 days, and imitation sites exist, so the address is worth typing in directly.
Each report is worth reading line by line. The pieces to check are the names and addresses, every account and its balance, limit, and status, the payment history on each, any collections, and the list of companies that have accessed the report. An account that was never opened, a payment marked late that was paid on time, or an address where the person never lived are all worth a dispute.
How to dispute an error
A dispute goes to each bureau that has the mistake, and a copy of the same dispute goes to the business that reported it. The bureau has 30 days to investigate, whether the dispute was filed online, by phone, or by mail. A mailed letter should include a full name and address, each error and why it is wrong, copies, not originals, of supporting documents, and a copy of the report with the errors circled, sent by certified mail with a return receipt.
The bureau forwards the evidence to the business that reported the information, and the results come back in writing. When the report changes, there is a free copy that does not count as the free annual report. If the dispute is not resolved, a statement of the dispute can be added to the file, and a follow-up check confirms that the error was removed or that a dispute notice appears.
How to raise a score without taking on new debt
The cheapest improvements involve accounts that already exist. Paying every bill on time covers the 35% category, and paying credit card balances down before the statement closes lowers the ratio that gets reported, with under 10% generally best. Keeping old cards open protects the age of the history, and a small recurring charge paid in full each month keeps them from being closed for inactivity.
Experian Boost is a free way to add on-time payments such as phone, utilities, and streaming to an Experian credit report, and late payments are ignored, so they cannot hurt the score. Users whose scores improve see an average increase of 13 points, though it is not guaranteed and only lenders that use that Experian data will see it. Skipping applications for accounts that are not needed avoids inquiries, and a dispute that removes a wrong late payment or collection can do more than any other step here.
