The average credit score was lower last year. Three out of the five states with the highest credit scores are in the West. But among the 10 states with the worst scores, just one was in the West.
The average U.S. consumer had a credit score of 730 during 2011.
The findings were based on an analysis of more than 330,000 online mortgage applications received by clients of Mortgagebot, which provides point-of-sale technology.
A spokeswoman for the company acknowledged, however, that its users are likely to have higher credit scores than the overall population “because we are focused on national PR and other sources likely to have readers and viewers with higher credit rating.”
The average score fell from 735 in 2010.
California had the highest average credit score last year: 754. It was the second consecutive year that the Golden State topped the charts.
Oregon followed with an average score of 750, then Wisconsin’s 749, Hawaii’s 748 and Connecticut’s 745.
Mississippi’s was the lowest-ranking state for the second year in a row. The state’s average score fell to 686 last year from 695 in 2010.
Arkansas wasn’t far behind, with an average score of 691.
Next was West Virginia’s 697, Louisiana’s 698 and Oklahoma’s 701.
