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Does the Age at Which a Consumer Gets Their First Credit Matter? Credit Bureau Entry Age and First Credit Type Effects on Credit Score, Accessible Data

Figure 1: Age of Entry Into the Consumer Credit Panel
Entry-Age rel.freq
16 0%
17 1%
18 21%
19 15%
20 8%
21 5%
22 4%
23 3%
24 2%
25 2%
26 2%
27 2%
28 2%
29 1%
30 1%
31 1%
32 1%
33 1%
34 1%
35 1%
36 1%
37 1%
38 1%
39 1%
40 1%
41 1%
42 1%
43 1%
44 1%
45 1%
46 1%
47 1%
48 1%
49 1%
50 1%
51 1%
52 1%
53 1%
54 1%
55 1%
56 1%
57 1%
58 0%
59 0%
60 0%
61 0%
62 0%
63 0%
64 0%
65 0%
66 0%
67 0%
68 0%
69 0%
70 0%
71 0%
72 0%
73 0%
74 0%
75 0%
76 0%
77 0%
78 0%
79 0%
80 0%
81 0%
82 0%
83 0%
84 0%
85 0%
86 0%
87 0%
88 0%
89 0%
90 0%
91 0%
92 0%
93 0%
94 0%
95 0%
96 0%
97 0%
98 0%
99 0%
100 0%

Note: The percent of observations that enter the CCP by age. The ages shown are limited to 16-50, while percentages are calcaulted across all ages. Individuals entering the CCP after age 50 represent 11% of all observations.

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

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Figure 2: Average Credit Score, by Age: Cross Section
Date Age Credit Score
1999:Q4 18 633.349965
1999:Q4 19 624.2193502
1999:Q4 20 620.9870168
1999:Q4 21 618.5961565
1999:Q4 22 617.7013413
1999:Q4 23 617.1217756
1999:Q4 24 618.3878385
1999:Q4 25 620.748553
1999:Q4 26 623.5221768
1999:Q4 27 627.8059575
1999:Q4 28 632.39916
1999:Q4 29 637.2425299
1999:Q4 30 641.9799422
2000:Q4 18 637.9280306
2000:Q4 19 627.1202972
2000:Q4 20 620.0764204
2000:Q4 21 617.6612807
2000:Q4 22 615.9889633
2000:Q4 23 615.8574017
2000:Q4 24 616.4893364
2000:Q4 25 618.6434815
2000:Q4 26 621.7492583
2000:Q4 27 625.01968
2000:Q4 28 629.1921845
2000:Q4 29 634.2261463
2000:Q4 30 638.9633329
2001:Q4 18 637.8821684
2001:Q4 19 622.922169
2001:Q4 20 615.4975751
2001:Q4 21 611.3240247
2001:Q4 22 610.1527813
2001:Q4 23 610.4200373
2001:Q4 24 611.3275755
2001:Q4 25 613.2452497
2001:Q4 26 616.3643704
2001:Q4 27 620.1529132
2001:Q4 28 623.6854682
2001:Q4 29 627.8747685
2001:Q4 30 632.5112616
2002:Q4 18 643.0410759
2002:Q4 19 630.2862333
2002:Q4 20 621.5091335
2002:Q4 21 616.1638504
2002:Q4 22 613.2027205
2002:Q4 23 612.7974398
2002:Q4 24 613.6412868
2002:Q4 25 615.2599848
2002:Q4 26 617.8297789
2002:Q4 27 621.0388614
2002:Q4 28 624.7897672
2002:Q4 29 627.979383
2002:Q4 30 631.6777662
2003:Q4 18 644.7168932
2003:Q4 19 635.2475176
2003:Q4 20 627.8967375
2003:Q4 21 622.9526334
2003:Q4 22 619.8742027
2003:Q4 23 617.9598174
2003:Q4 24 618.4220516
2003:Q4 25 620.2294175
2003:Q4 26 622.4353485
2003:Q4 27 625.4644953
2003:Q4 28 628.8643305
2003:Q4 29 632.7581022
2003:Q4 30 635.6389244
2004:Q4 18 642.327325
2004:Q4 19 631.8363133
2004:Q4 20 627.5682522
2004:Q4 21 623.7180488
2004:Q4 22 622.3036487
2004:Q4 23 621.4418168
2004:Q4 24 620.8603586
2004:Q4 25 622.9914936
2004:Q4 26 625.7320475
2004:Q4 27 629.0773641
2004:Q4 28 632.4755158
2004:Q4 29 636.0896255
2004:Q4 30 639.3818108
2005:Q4 18 639.6754322
2005:Q4 19 630.156746
2005:Q4 20 624.4227146
2005:Q4 21 624.2475798
2005:Q4 22 621.8925912
2005:Q4 23 622.209846
2005:Q4 24 622.9197648
2005:Q4 25 624.1823272
2005:Q4 26 627.7448033
2005:Q4 27 630.9402136
2005:Q4 28 634.7527115
2005:Q4 29 638.3323067
2005:Q4 30 641.6610292
2006:Q4 18 638.0708163
2006:Q4 19 625.9106539
2006:Q4 20 622.3390035
2006:Q4 21 620.6491854
2006:Q4 22 622.8055707
2006:Q4 23 621.3258359
2006:Q4 24 622.6573703
2006:Q4 25 625.0238965
2006:Q4 26 627.295324
2006:Q4 27 631.4461744
2006:Q4 28 634.955291
2006:Q4 29 638.6058876
2006:Q4 30 641.6576257
2007:Q4 18 635.6666545
2007:Q4 19 621.8165501
2007:Q4 20 617.6052594
2007:Q4 21 617.5753136
2007:Q4 22 617.7074173
2007:Q4 23 621.6058652
2007:Q4 24 620.7201432
2007:Q4 25 622.9984638
2007:Q4 26 626.5011964
2007:Q4 27 629.2246099
2007:Q4 28 633.0070419
2007:Q4 29 636.5291572
2007:Q4 30 639.8263302
2008:Q4 18 641.2001875
2008:Q4 19 626.0811505
2008:Q4 20 621.2129442
2008:Q4 21 619.2960259
2008:Q4 22 620.5154134
2008:Q4 23 621.0457425
2008:Q4 24 624.4773008
2008:Q4 25 625.4071099
2008:Q4 26 628.2557748
2008:Q4 27 631.6646574
2008:Q4 28 634.2472783
2008:Q4 29 637.8191947
2008:Q4 30 640.9085474
2009:Q4 18 647.9625702
2009:Q4 19 639.0448537
2009:Q4 20 629.8518808
2009:Q4 21 626.2696886
2009:Q4 22 624.9890019
2009:Q4 23 625.8518538
2009:Q4 24 626.6813602
2009:Q4 25 630.3102859
2009:Q4 26 631.7882197
2009:Q4 27 634.3075824
2009:Q4 28 637.2944323
2009:Q4 29 639.592559
2009:Q4 30 642.2728155
2010:Q4 18 647.7558064
2010:Q4 19 644.148047
2010:Q4 20 638.2945878
2010:Q4 21 632.336797
2010:Q4 22 629.5084813
2010:Q4 23 628.3171284
2010:Q4 24 629.6610232
2010:Q4 25 631.5190237
2010:Q4 26 635.6852779
2010:Q4 27 638.1331072
2010:Q4 28 640.668012
2010:Q4 29 643.5433482
2010:Q4 30 645.1611437
2011:Q4 18 649.7615022
2011:Q4 19 644.6193197
2011:Q4 20 639.3969491
2011:Q4 21 634.9552221
2011:Q4 22 630.82449
2011:Q4 23 629.6685427
2011:Q4 24 629.6759089
2011:Q4 25 632.10622
2011:Q4 26 634.8195498
2011:Q4 27 639.5288545
2011:Q4 28 642.2958853
2011:Q4 29 644.5427088
2011:Q4 30 647.0290411
2012:Q4 18 645.5369873
2012:Q4 19 638.2797288
2012:Q4 20 638.3727739
2012:Q4 21 635.0225084
2012:Q4 22 632.552095
2012:Q4 23 630.3215996
2012:Q4 24 630.5232786
2012:Q4 25 632.315924
2012:Q4 26 635.5649905
2012:Q4 27 638.4660005
2012:Q4 28 643.3656947
2012:Q4 29 645.8602876
2012:Q4 30 647.6835422
2013:Q4 18 647.7824555
2013:Q4 19 644.652154
2013:Q4 20 639.9136011
2013:Q4 21 635.7196788
2013:Q4 22 633.1690963
2013:Q4 23 632.8752946
2013:Q4 24 632.147147
2013:Q4 25 634.440352
2013:Q4 26 637.0001714
2013:Q4 27 640.8768706
2013:Q4 28 643.9913593
2013:Q4 29 648.5963685
2013:Q4 30 650.9155915
2014:Q4 18 646.5979395
2014:Q4 19 642.5349046
2014:Q4 20 638.6602207
2014:Q4 21 634.9217284
2014:Q4 22 632.3461314
2014:Q4 23 631.6735046
2014:Q4 24 632.8955849
2014:Q4 25 634.0908678
2014:Q4 26 637.4732393
2014:Q4 27 641.0371177
2014:Q4 28 645.1547318
2014:Q4 29 648.3481178
2014:Q4 30 652.9594615
2015:Q4 18 648.0088881
2015:Q4 19 643.685613
2015:Q4 20 639.8704234
2015:Q4 21 636.6669272
2015:Q4 22 633.6417532
2015:Q4 23 633.0125867
2015:Q4 24 633.7437855
2015:Q4 25 635.9743614
2015:Q4 26 638.5916675
2015:Q4 27 642.4425129
2015:Q4 28 646.5621576
2015:Q4 29 650.3181624
2015:Q4 30 653.2852264
2016:Q4 18 647.6472793
2016:Q4 19 645.9498909
2016:Q4 20 643.1023791
2016:Q4 21 639.7369228
2016:Q4 22 637.2879296
2016:Q4 23 636.0973902
2016:Q4 24 636.6111261
2016:Q4 25 637.7979446
2016:Q4 26 641.1027182
2016:Q4 27 644.1249145
2016:Q4 28 648.1146207
2016:Q4 29 652.0808478
2016:Q4 30 655.6328355
2017:Q4 18 648.701873
2017:Q4 19 647.1047146
2017:Q4 20 646.0162444
2017:Q4 21 643.7260533
2017:Q4 22 641.7909475
2017:Q4 23 640.8582663
2017:Q4 24 640.7795835
2017:Q4 25 642.0116165
2017:Q4 26 644.0025247
2017:Q4 27 647.4459733
2017:Q4 28 650.6925091
2017:Q4 29 654.8601944
2017:Q4 30 658.3556759
2018:Q4 18 648.9901629
2018:Q4 19 647.3382009
2018:Q4 20 646.65108
2018:Q4 21 645.8623753
2018:Q4 22 644.964716
2018:Q4 23 644.2509127
2018:Q4 24 644.3408437
2018:Q4 25 645.2801904
2018:Q4 26 647.2395048
2018:Q4 27 649.3302259
2018:Q4 28 653.2845128
2018:Q4 29 656.7336678
2018:Q4 30 660.5491746
2019:Q4 18 649.5242365
2019:Q4 19 648.403234
2019:Q4 20 647.6694105
2019:Q4 21 646.5980574
2019:Q4 22 647.332559
2019:Q4 23 647.6222606
2019:Q4 24 648.0698736
2019:Q4 25 648.7630536
2019:Q4 26 649.8153156
2019:Q4 27 652.3267301
2019:Q4 28 654.612045
2019:Q4 29 658.5018705
2019:Q4 30 661.5998729
2020:Q4 18 654.5224659
2020:Q4 19 658.5743669
2020:Q4 20 660.4018908
2020:Q4 21 660.4240877
2020:Q4 22 660.4731301
2020:Q4 23 661.6126151
2020:Q4 24 662.2258506
2020:Q4 25 663.0389588
2020:Q4 26 663.8378482
2020:Q4 27 665.0720127
2020:Q4 28 667.7220937
2020:Q4 29 669.863644
2020:Q4 30 673.4727935

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

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Figure 3: Credit Score Dynamics over the Early Life Cycle
Age-Quarter Credit Score
18.75 645.3432339
19 643.1409945
19.25 642.6731554
19.5 637.6347502
19.75 635.9763061
20 637.1150172
20.25 637.4645116
20.5 634.7467579
20.75 633.1951385
21 635.153039
21.25 635.9468997
21.5 636.2744293
21.75 636.4038217
22 637.8613996
22.25 637.8919694
22.5 637.4619835
22.75 637.5344941
23 638.546722
23.25 638.4646967
23.5 637.9348939
23.75 637.8433011
24 639.3272018
24.25 639.874368
24.5 639.5517147
24.75 639.4348727
25 641.7063932
25.25 642.8098807
25.5 642.7710392
25.75 642.9808014
26 645.6577831
26.25 647.2119095
26.5 647.3877964
26.75 647.6615012
27 650.4095549
27.25 652.2063773
27.5 652.5096363
27.75 652.9562028
28 655.8927521
28.25 657.7401891
28.5 657.9972921
28.75 658.4198576
29 661.64665
29.25 663.4681345
29.5 663.6120978
29.75 663.9646809
30 667.031252
30.25 669.5267511
30.5 670.0660951
30.75 670.5365091

Note: Average credit score of individuals who enter the sample at age 18 and remain in the sampleuntil age 30.

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

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Figure 4: Average Credit Score at Age 30, by Age of Entry
Entry-Age Credit Score
18 664.9765323
19 655.8644963
20 649.6864288
21 650.3972775
22 656.8538372
23 658.8933472
24 656.2530301
25 657.0447631
26 654.4715152
27 653.165581
28 648.3761468
29 651.0502793
30 653.946365

Note: Average credit score of individuals at age 30 by the age they enter the Consumer Credit Panel, within a 95 percent confidence interval.

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

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Figure 5: Credit Score Development, by First Account Type
Age-Quarter First Account Type Credit Score
18.75 Auto 647.586894
18.75 Card 649.0797314
18.75 Consumer Finance 642.3790093
18.75 Retail 640.5867093
18.75 Student 646.4703476
19 Auto 645.2438373
19 Card 643.5972326
19 Consumer Finance 634.9149744
19 Retail 633.4475444
19 Student 649.2938991
19.25 Auto 643.8364832
19.25 Card 640.0539442
19.25 Consumer Finance 630.0265705
19.25 Retail 626.9448213
19.25 Student 655.396728
19.5 Auto 636.9770953
19.5 Card 636.5727032
19.5 Consumer Finance 620.5211615
19.5 Retail 620.821995
19.5 Student 650.904908
19.75 Auto 634.060908
19.75 Card 639.2696915
19.75 Consumer Finance 617.481116
19.75 Retail 618.4139117
19.75 Student 644.6748978
20 Auto 632.1028143
20 Card 641.9847734
20 Consumer Finance 616.5247675
20 Retail 618.4454902
20 Student 647.3507669
20.25 Auto 630.6826212
20.25 Card 642.1943774
20.25 Consumer Finance 615.9842475
20.25 Retail 618.4934072
20.25 Student 648.5516871
20.5 Auto 627.7086072
20.5 Card 639.7223807
20.5 Consumer Finance 613.1442399
20.5 Retail 616.2049016
20.5 Student 645.5739605
20.75 Auto 623.8614421
20.75 Card 638.1838021
20.75 Consumer Finance 611.5363447
20.75 Retail 614.0261322
20.75 Student 644.4104294
21 Auto 624.5426253
21 Card 640.7520149
21 Consumer Finance 613.6280129
21 Retail 615.1273648
21 Student 646.1773688
21.25 Auto 624.5360518
21.25 Card 641.8757734
21.25 Consumer Finance 614.2937939
21.25 Retail 616.6059622
21.25 Student 646.5007669
21.5 Auto 624.2558546
21.5 Card 642.1389559
21.5 Consumer Finance 614.5154678
21.5 Retail 616.312297
21.5 Student 647.3676721
21.75 Auto 623.7452753
21.75 Card 642.670338
21.75 Consumer Finance 613.7534637
21.75 Retail 616.0587139
21.75 Student 647.3052147
22 Auto 624.5277321
22 Card 644.4974622
22 Consumer Finance 616.0254318
22 Retail 617.8980031
22 Student 647.999165
22.25 Auto 625.1429745
22.25 Card 644.6595287
22.25 Consumer Finance 616.5589296
22.25 Retail 618.2049016
22.25 Student 647.4574983
22.5 Auto 624.7029581
22.5 Card 644.1472933
22.5 Consumer Finance 615.9064339
22.5 Retail 617.4916396
22.5 Student 647.2862645
22.75 Auto 623.8291906
22.75 Card 644.1886875
22.75 Consumer Finance 615.5350161
22.75 Retail 616.9599178
22.75 Student 647.6764145
23 Auto 625.003903
23 Card 645.6350432
23 Consumer Finance 617.1184285
23 Retail 618.6701223
23 Student 647.6730402
23.25 Auto 625.4697001
23.25 Card 646.0180058
23.25 Consumer Finance 616.7976846
23.25 Retail 619.1898051
23.25 Student 646.6497785
23.5 Auto 625.003903
23.5 Card 645.5587784
23.5 Consumer Finance 616.0996394
23.5 Retail 618.8873973
23.5 Student 646.0283572
23.75 Auto 624.250719
23.75 Card 645.6676906
23.75 Consumer Finance 615.9375593
23.75 Retail 618.2294573
23.75 Student 645.9632754
24 Auto 625.9859285
24 Card 647.3948835
24 Consumer Finance 618.3995065
24 Retail 620.2018918
24 Student 646.610651
24.25 Auto 627.2719803
24.25 Card 648.100999
24.25 Consumer Finance 619.267603
24.25 Retail 621.0588095
24.25 Student 646.5704669
24.5 Auto 626.6020953
24.5 Card 647.8425702
24.5 Consumer Finance 618.4989562
24.5 Retail 620.7069081
24.5 Student 646.1511759
24.75 Auto 626.2200082
24.75 Card 647.8618486
24.75 Consumer Finance 618.4962991
24.75 Retail 620.7778043
24.75 Student 645.9428766
25 Auto 629.0698439
25 Card 650.1250018
25 Consumer Finance 621.0277092
25 Retail 623.1677336
25 Student 647.9033231
25.25 Auto 629.9736031
25.25 Card 651.2437433
25.25 Consumer Finance 622.4744733
25.25 Retail 624.494936
25.25 Student 648.8708078
25.5 Auto 629.6551972
25.5 Card 651.3703834
25.5 Consumer Finance 622.3683811
25.5 Retail 624.3651347
25.5 Student 648.8234663
25.75 Auto 629.9022186
25.75 Card 651.5640148
25.75 Consumer Finance 621.907193
25.75 Retail 624.5678387
25.75 Student 649.1329755
26 Auto 632.6525267
26 Card 654.4591104
26 Consumer Finance 624.6532549
26 Retail 627.2762756
26 Student 651.4566803
26.25 Auto 633.5208505
26.25 Card 656.0833736
26.25 Consumer Finance 626.0417537
26.25 Retail 628.8791324
26.25 Student 652.8718984
26.5 Auto 633.4326212
26.5 Card 656.371261
26.5 Consumer Finance 625.5350161
26.5 Retail 628.9666539
26.5 Student 653.175392
26.75 Auto 633.4816146
26.75 Card 656.5490076
26.75 Consumer Finance 625.4446764
26.75 Retail 629.2449838
26.75 Student 653.6312031
27 Auto 636.4109491
27 Card 659.2055231
27 Consumer Finance 628.7194914
27 Retail 632.160902
27 Student 656.0698534
27.25 Auto 638.0390304
27.25 Card 660.9096055
27.25 Consumer Finance 631.3010059
27.25 Retail 634.0528378
27.25 Student 657.8504431
27.5 Auto 638.249281
27.5 Card 661.4953706
27.5 Consumer Finance 630.9147846
27.5 Retail 634.2616568
27.5 Student 657.9772495
27.75 Auto 638.7772186
27.75 Card 661.9797709
27.75 Consumer Finance 631.5684191
27.75 Retail 634.6838334
27.75 Student 658.4949046
28 Auto 641.7705423
28 Card 664.756754
28 Consumer Finance 634.0275195
28 Retail 637.641267
28 Student 661.3220518
28.25 Auto 644.0549507
28.25 Card 666.510568
28.25 Consumer Finance 635.8096413
28.25 Retail 639.2681062
28.25 Student 663.2571745
28.5 Auto 644.1274651
28.5 Card 666.9527696
28.5 Consumer Finance 635.8893528
28.5 Retail 639.3137779
28.5 Student 663.5572086
28.75 Auto 644.0370789
28.75 Card 667.3970775
28.75 Consumer Finance 636.0947049
28.75 Retail 639.4430537
28.75 Student 664.3178937
29 Auto 647.3874281
29 Card 670.6297775
29 Consumer Finance 639.1806794
29 Retail 642.4379897
29 Student 667.6034254
29.25 Auto 648.8751027
29.25 Card 672.2875218
29.25 Consumer Finance 640.2497628
29.25 Retail 644.2764667
29.25 Student 669.8013633
29.5 Auto 648.1659819
29.5 Card 672.3939474
29.5 Consumer Finance 639.9705827
29.5 Retail 644.3321231
29.5 Student 670.1882584
29.75 Auto 648.1899137
29.75 Card 672.7192798
29.75 Consumer Finance 639.114443
29.75 Retail 644.2794764
29.75 Student 670.9436264
30 Auto 651.8233361
30 Card 675.7191774
30 Consumer Finance 642.3905864
30 Retail 646.9993789
30 Student 674.1333845
30.25 Auto 654.7261709
30.25 Card 677.8175582
30.25 Consumer Finance 644.9550199
30.25 Retail 649.2622779
30.25 Student 677.2387526
30.5 Auto 654.4852095
30.5 Card 678.2728509
30.5 Consumer Finance 645.0296071
30.5 Retail 649.4511752
30.5 Student 678.3392979
30.75 Auto 654.1565325
30.75 Card 678.6981
30.75 Consumer Finance 645.131524
30.75 Retail 649.1809192
30.75 Student 679.4886333

Note: Average credit score of individuals who enter the sample at age 18 and remain in thesample until age 30 by firs t credit type within a 95 percent confidence interval.

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

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Last Update: July 15, 2021