Accessible Version

Developments in the Credit Score Distribution over 2020, Accessible Data

Figure 1. Distribution of Borrowers, by Credit Risk Category

Percent

Quarter Near prime Subprime
3/1/2003 26.84470255 27.96978183
6/1/2003 26.77590131 27.68230848
9/1/2003 26.88523678 27.67691195
12/1/2003 27.00992964 27.78324529
3/1/2004 26.83362749 28.02161085
6/1/2004 26.87040513 27.73299851
9/1/2004 26.73387607 27.65132348
12/1/2004 26.221699 27.73886577
3/1/2005 26.08452209 27.43655392
6/1/2005 26.12808024 27.08955113
9/1/2005 25.82119922 27.3178221
12/1/2005 25.70729712 27.47095423
3/1/2006 25.73855713 27.14238034
6/1/2006 25.5203046 27.07859142
9/1/2006 25.49329433 27.2075269
12/1/2006 25.48951515 27.25876997
3/1/2007 25.49563082 27.12993339
6/1/2007 25.10469407 27.07808198
9/1/2007 24.89453425 27.27766625
12/1/2007 24.69181984 27.4956426
3/1/2008 24.50101435 27.35856569
6/1/2008 24.08542024 27.27156894
9/1/2008 24.24660198 27.24065477
12/1/2008 24.11426374 27.52797372
3/1/2009 23.76222231 27.39870992
6/1/2009 23.8501613 27.23577347
9/1/2009 23.9977068 27.39666721
12/1/2009 24.10733966 27.42850429
3/1/2010 24.06852873 27.31635303
6/1/2010 24.27214623 27.07027667
9/1/2010 24.51615503 27.07471369
12/1/2010 24.85419855 26.93746728
3/1/2011 24.93562776 26.53222354
6/1/2011 25.09801196 26.30588877
9/1/2011 25.14294685 26.31672689
12/1/2011 25.26784234 26.41669891
3/1/2012 25.31849903 26.10618978
6/1/2012 25.39204767 25.78010432
9/1/2012 25.40132358 25.73332889
12/1/2012 25.5114673 25.72704596
3/1/2013 25.66304147 25.26934251
6/1/2013 25.91529426 24.86510454
9/1/2013 26.97718226 24.68105011
12/1/2013 27.07377119 24.47226885
3/1/2014 27.07985586 24.04961003
6/1/2014 27.19818001 23.63650717
9/1/2014 27.2135056 23.53122526
12/1/2014 27.30889604 23.61521347
3/1/2015 27.27562914 23.19957819
6/1/2015 27.1881809 23.02118894
9/1/2015 26.99512944 23.06068177
12/1/2015 27.19220807 22.92964001
3/1/2016 27.03495663 22.51047432
6/1/2016 26.88101208 22.30125218
9/1/2016 26.69342396 22.40165555
12/1/2016 26.63170178 22.4806912
3/1/2017 26.35462613 22.25457208
6/1/2017 26.15762469 22.15438598
9/1/2017 26.04288099 22.24249774
12/1/2017 26.18541771 21.99717303
3/1/2018 25.94858498 21.58164703
6/1/2018 25.67809761 21.38202339
9/1/2018 25.48501315 21.53533399
12/1/2018 25.38521497 21.70022833
3/1/2019 25.12497014 21.44305503
6/1/2019 25.28693878 21.73696638
9/1/2019 25.20202825 21.83159507
12/1/2019 25.07818393 22.02210369
1/1/2020 24.94964385 22.082005
2/1/2020 24.81550319 22.05565448
3/1/2020 24.80423999 21.8107324
4/1/2020 24.81442114 21.38730278
5/1/2020 24.83006926 20.92888818
6/1/2020 24.94716424 20.55187199
7/1/2020 25.01448226 20.2973053
8/1/2020 25.06223922 20.0668632
9/1/2020 25.19378467 19.85064465
10/1/2020 25.3324836 19.63798491
11/1/2020 25.38693793 19.48166986
12/1/2020 25.52192781 19.33753151

Note: Share of credit scored-individuals in indicated credit risk category. Near prime refers to credit score between 620 and 729, and subprime below 620. Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Figure 2. Key Segments of the Credit Score Distribution

Credit Score

Quarter 10th percentile 25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile 90th percentile
3/1/2003 527 606 704 773 802
6/1/2003 531 607 705 773 802
9/1/2003 531 607 705 773 802
12/1/2003 532 607 704 772 802
3/1/2004 533 606 704 773 803
6/1/2004 535 607 705 773 803
9/1/2004 536 608 705 774 803
12/1/2004 536 607 706 776 806
3/1/2005 538 609 708 778 807
6/1/2005 541 611 709 779 808
9/1/2005 540 609 709 779 809
12/1/2005 539 609 708 779 809
3/1/2006 540 610 710 781 810
6/1/2006 540 611 710 781 810
9/1/2006 539 610 710 781 810
12/1/2006 538 610 710 781 810
3/1/2007 539 610 710 781 813
6/1/2007 537 610 712 783 814
9/1/2007 534 609 712 784 814
12/1/2007 531 608 712 784 814
3/1/2008 531 609 713 785 816
6/1/2008 532 609 714 787 817
9/1/2008 532 609 714 787 817
12/1/2008 530 608 713 787 817
3/1/2009 530 608 715 790 819
6/1/2009 532 609 715 789 819
9/1/2009 532 608 714 788 818
12/1/2009 533 608 714 788 818
3/1/2010 535 609 714 789 819
6/1/2010 538 610 714 788 818
9/1/2010 539 610 713 788 818
12/1/2010 541 611 713 788 818
3/1/2011 544 613 714 789 819
6/1/2011 545 614 714 789 819
9/1/2011 545 614 714 789 819
12/1/2011 545 614 713 789 819
3/1/2012 548 615 714 790 819
6/1/2012 549 616 715 790 819
9/1/2012 548 616 715 790 819
12/1/2012 547 617 715 790 819
3/1/2013 548 618 716 790 819
6/1/2013 550 620 717 790 819
9/1/2013 549 621 713 789 819
12/1/2013 549 622 714 790 819
3/1/2014 550 623 715 791 820
6/1/2014 551 625 716 791 820
9/1/2014 550 626 717 792 820
12/1/2014 549 625 716 791 820
3/1/2015 550 627 718 793 820
6/1/2015 550 628 719 793 820
9/1/2015 549 628 719 793 820
12/1/2015 548 629 719 792 820
3/1/2016 549 631 721 794 820
6/1/2016 550 632 722 794 820
9/1/2016 549 632 723 794 820
12/1/2016 548 632 722 794 820
3/1/2017 548 633 724 795 821
6/1/2017 549 633 725 795 821
9/1/2017 548 633 725 794 821
12/1/2017 549 634 726 794 821
3/1/2018 551 636 728 795 822
6/1/2018 552 638 729 795 822
9/1/2018 551 637 729 796 822
12/1/2018 550 636 729 795 822
3/1/2019 551 638 731 797 822
6/1/2019 551 636 729 798 822
9/1/2019 550 635 729 798 822
12/1/2019 548 635 729 797 822
1/1/2020 548 634 729 798 822
2/1/2020 548 635 730 798 822
3/1/2020 549 636 731 799 823
4/1/2020 553 638 732 800 823
5/1/2020 556 640 733 801 823
6/1/2020 559 642 734 801 823
7/1/2020 561 643 735 801 823
8/1/2020 563 644 735 801 823
9/1/2020 564 645 736 801 823
10/1/2020 565 646 736 801 823
11/1/2020 566 646 736 801 823
12/1/2020 566 647 736 801 823

Note: Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic. Quarterly data before 2020 and monthly data thereafter.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Figure 3. Delinquency among the Bottom Quartile of the Credit Score Distribution

Percent

Quarter Auto Loan Credit Card Mortgage Student Loan
3/1/2015 0.106750822 0.192073012 0.394929021 0.271419254
6/1/2015 0.111646773 0.182199279 0.394443707 0.277347287
9/1/2015 0.124501847 0.184720888 0.39543424 0.279229234
12/1/2015 0.126560036 0.189196919 0.374421481 0.27869638
3/1/2016 0.110454775 0.182833681 0.347501855 0.270217187
6/1/2016 0.116451976 0.168523502 0.337171154 0.269571131
9/1/2016 0.125554713 0.176854511 0.344277207 0.265416872
12/1/2016 0.12858284 0.190050323 0.327697843 0.268870822
3/1/2017 0.106403387 0.186649385 0.328002206 0.26449639
6/1/2017 0.119022587 0.180452365 0.321210631 0.271063083
9/1/2017 0.127342781 0.194013749 0.325524136 0.27282543
12/1/2017 0.123063997 0.202258208 0.300268463 0.262056013
3/1/2018 0.112012323 0.193019944 0.291405693 0.258609773
6/1/2018 0.111076867 0.175050825 0.271265609 0.260486375
9/1/2018 0.117782405 0.189494763 0.295714773 0.276084613
12/1/2018 0.12464962 0.199790906 0.290171904 0.275588403
3/1/2019 0.110193366 0.195221705 0.270830856 0.26555274
6/1/2019 0.11319543 0.185731898 0.255668505 0.268949187
9/1/2019 0.123774144 0.198772831 0.285429078 0.274310122
12/1/2019 0.12619021 0.203883579 0.270572722 0.271990185
1/1/2020 0.133833594 0.203599838 0.294246878 0.27386094
2/1/2020 0.127509349 0.203573431 0.282469962 0.270107748
3/1/2020 0.114140678 0.196123232 0.255790331 0.269798031
4/1/2020 0.116770777 0.181251064 0.228908379 0.20650865
5/1/2020 0.100788095 0.17236906 0.197941159 0.177503843
6/1/2020 0.086246029 0.152459934 0.166665599 0.176464656
7/1/2020 0.08320472 0.14872001 0.158387179 0.174405685
8/1/2020 0.086000796 0.140854119 0.150509648 0.170890904
9/1/2020 0.091126079 0.142854353 0.152335794 0.167837933
10/1/2020 0.090849891 0.142284093 0.14810564 0.165060563
11/1/2020 0.095125504 0.145360479 0.143021954 0.165922845
12/1/2020 0.099762013 0.151914537 0.139601797 0.165326992

Note: The delinquency rate for mortgage, credit card, and auto loans refers to the percent of balances 30-days past due in the respective category; for student loans, it is the percent of balances 90-plus days past due. Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Figure 4. Loan Balances and Credit Card Utilization among the Bottom Quartile of the Credit Score Distribution

Percent

Quarter Balances (left axis) Utilization (right axis)
3/1/2015 1997.534083 80.10036988
6/1/2015 1942.852049 80.11812185
9/1/2015 1953.273149 80.61201563
12/1/2015 1981.226225 80.61396036
3/1/2016 1997.374442 79.34011095
6/1/2016 1967.139643 79.63097488
9/1/2016 2003.655784 80.26446552
12/1/2016 2027.541069 80.82357484
3/1/2017 2039.346343 80.31326222
6/1/2017 2025.513564 80.66083553
9/1/2017 2041.880613 80.87263722
12/1/2017 2054.420923 81.89754719
3/1/2018 2038.469411 81.31885218
6/1/2018 2034.848742 81.2148204
9/1/2018 2069.262391 82.11490221
12/1/2018 2065.764151 82.08575004
3/1/2019 2087.585873 81.4766668
6/1/2019 2024.53515 82.02164141
9/1/2019 2057.411708 82.78688828
12/1/2019 2113.316244 82.30320353
1/1/2020 2104.793155 82.60876088
2/1/2020 2113.09256 82.42373776
3/1/2020 2110.17231 81.67895684
4/1/2020 2119.913366 81.06894464
5/1/2020 2103.789441 80.15020066
6/1/2020 2087.37043 79.56925189
7/1/2020 2056.512502 79.6052717
8/1/2020 2041.381836 79.46575266
9/1/2020 2040.668799 79.46244953
10/1/2020 2042.516261 79.39156157
11/1/2020 2036.891477 79.8128258
12/1/2020 2062.95319 79.95933757

Note: Auto loan data are linearly interpolated between April and July 2020 due to reporting issue. Credit card utilization rate is the ratio of credit card balances to credit card limits. Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Figure 5. Credit Inquiry and Success Rates among the Bottom Quartile of the Credit Score Distribution

Percent

Quarter Inquiry Success
3/1/2015 0.66426003 0.44181519
6/1/2015 0.671494902 0.459610087
9/1/2015 0.673558657 0.469033629
12/1/2015 0.673849764 0.477965567
3/1/2016 0.668916339 0.476546548
6/1/2016 0.668988766 0.481568048
9/1/2016 0.665552643 0.482048551
12/1/2016 0.663876716 0.483191067
3/1/2017 0.660382198 0.476056279
6/1/2017 0.656954361 0.470882211
9/1/2017 0.65214602 0.46454047
12/1/2017 0.648193521 0.462503672
3/1/2018 0.645178508 0.46493791
6/1/2018 0.640281005 0.463565136
9/1/2018 0.635944732 0.463398901
12/1/2018 0.634274454 0.465013526
3/1/2019 0.62908184 0.463894206
6/1/2019 0.627698254 0.467395007
9/1/2019 0.61869902 0.467677588
12/1/2019 0.620065371 0.481042491
1/1/2020 0.614314494 0.48001703
2/1/2020 0.610186133 0.479665974
3/1/2020 0.610095787 0.481255768
4/1/2020 0.598362668 0.476060584
5/1/2020 0.588278518 0.466537036
6/1/2020 0.583828471 0.464490254
7/1/2020 0.576579418 0.460568272
8/1/2020 0.569897802 0.459302668
9/1/2020 0.56588861 0.458888862
10/1/2020 0.558834839 0.458112451
11/1/2020 0.553927664 0.45710378
12/1/2020 0.551304999 0.464491725

Note: Inquiry shows the percent of individuals with one or more credit record inquiries in the past 12 months; Success shows the percent of individuals opening a new account in the past 12 months given at least one inquiry during the same period. Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Figure 6. Distribution of Debt, by Credit Risk Category

Trillions of 2020 Dollars

Quarter Prime Near prime Subprime
3/1/2003 5415.986852 3117.489118 1881.158643
6/1/2003 5585.615888 3169.179927 1843.080228
9/1/2003 5689.825146 3260.272924 1851.72692
12/1/2003 6167.490684 3438.334369 1912.007039
3/1/2004 6320.563121 3496.701465 1922.504465
6/1/2004 6409.83909 3547.139016 1877.281084
9/1/2004 6774.487294 3611.923356 1894.891758
12/1/2004 7011.678333 3550.815601 1925.891504
3/1/2005 7182.150421 3592.088807 1903.090342
6/1/2005 7349.678735 3620.592451 1890.254192
9/1/2005 7537.354591 3641.880113 1927.688484
12/1/2005 7740.778686 3651.877347 1907.8386
3/1/2006 8019.520001 3761.610503 1953.24022
6/1/2006 8183.124003 3775.751559 2003.305691
9/1/2006 8351.203242 3850.77136 2105.908893
12/1/2006 8574.675844 3893.818238 2212.018224
3/1/2007 8615.126171 3930.114899 2275.771118
6/1/2007 8747.641746 3877.869094 2320.88132
9/1/2007 8859.889097 3857.364646 2407.096073
12/1/2007 9068.958135 3832.171302 2565.202263
3/1/2008 9005.3314 3785.105713 2666.557518
6/1/2008 8976.312605 3595.270446 2656.783998
9/1/2008 8923.916494 3508.813568 2717.472857
12/1/2008 9125.800229 3500.854266 2969.389323
3/1/2009 9055.070245 3368.691403 3078.08809
6/1/2009 8859.18195 3234.66409 3107.232489
9/1/2009 8706.295709 3146.104807 3085.891977
12/1/2009 8640.26198 3056.503569 3077.364084
3/1/2010 8565.138276 3029.482509 3032.177452
6/1/2010 8470.631614 2996.076068 2913.401266
9/1/2010 8397.767339 2999.320135 2843.626843
12/1/2010 8234.215298 3010.372019 2808.570034
3/1/2011 8260.427636 2969.005597 2699.015192
6/1/2011 8180.624874 2941.617783 2532.758635
9/1/2011 8083.238738 2953.820842 2479.282189
12/1/2011 7949.932019 2971.626749 2443.31023
3/1/2012 7858.209664 2921.733019 2341.372023
6/1/2012 7801.716335 2928.563237 2263.006895
9/1/2012 7730.948733 2926.756795 2234.980585
12/1/2012 7731.722461 2953.643229 2214.111591
3/1/2013 7661.898106 2921.941093 2107.008415
6/1/2013 7601.042966 2912.352037 2001.461483
9/1/2013 7737.000236 2925.636389 1970.151734
12/1/2013 7969.299478 2983.53163 1982.346934
3/1/2014 8033.692032 2985.032456 1934.797152
6/1/2014 7993.310693 2946.952747 1832.42727
9/1/2014 8055.315052 2950.550256 1829.991038
12/1/2014 8193.28749 3023.741394 1866.478244
3/1/2015 8292.643432 3032.004249 1834.765163
6/1/2015 8235.872545 2978.847535 1763.94868
9/1/2015 8387.624525 2980.391023 1779.779694
12/1/2015 8477.536685 3014.561468 1787.894426
3/1/2016 8610.665201 3043.374573 1764.959538
6/1/2016 8596.067228 2992.504219 1721.092982
9/1/2016 8617.161621 3001.748052 1752.872283
12/1/2016 8721.541439 3036.643967 1781.778912
3/1/2017 8831.065096 3000.480979 1776.022023
6/1/2017 8916.724533 2980.050324 1758.093497
9/1/2017 8987.494815 2961.398676 1774.764845
12/1/2017 9100.585078 2984.097824 1769.310944
3/1/2018 9179.310925 2919.346403 1721.288199
6/1/2018 9198.982514 2875.935354 1684.781837
9/1/2018 9343.751554 2897.070232 1728.887702
12/1/2018 9341.688291 2895.719334 1752.67918
3/1/2019 9453.943481 2851.50592 1737.086544
6/1/2019 9515.823905 2848.104217 1711.301462
9/1/2019 9513.739456 2850.832367 1760.921422
12/1/2019 9614.679446 2868.246436 1812.752091
1/1/2020 9638.076358 2870.380173 1827.007227
2/1/2020 9656.633942 2856.111985 1822.05337
3/1/2020 9718.411863 2846.010203 1800.195747
4/1/2020 9801.304575 2870.667156 1763.828301
5/1/2020 9819.108907 2873.538606 1705.572795
6/1/2020 9841.321661 2851.177032 1644.564415
7/1/2020 9861.277531 2840.759485 1593.366701
8/1/2020 9885.758896 2831.525356 1561.718507
9/1/2020 9921.660123 2851.163537 1531.159472
10/1/2020 9925.394825 2862.968852 1511.80838
11/1/2020 9991.583474 2872.454642 1504.760092
12/1/2020 10071.01869 2886.230211 1503.327557

Note: Aggregate debt among credit-scored individuals with score in indicated credit risk category. Near prime refers to credit score between 620 and 729, subprime below 620, and prime above 729. Auto loan data are linearly interpolated between April and July 2020 due to reporting issue. Vertical dashed line represents March 2020, the onset of the pandemic.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.

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Last Update: April 30, 2021