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Here's the Average Credit Score of 40-Year-Old Americans (How Do You Compare?)

You might be surprised at how well people in their forties are doing.

By Michelle Smith , Edited by Tracy Odell

Updated June 27, 2026

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Your forties are a prime decade for growing your wealth. By now, you've had time to establish a stable job or build a well-rounded resume. You've started a retirement fund, but you still have several decades left to save. You likely also have a lengthy credit history, which hopefully means you have a higher credit score now than you did a decade ago.

But what should that credit score be for someone in their forties? How do you compare at the stage of life you find yourself in? And, most importantly, what can you do to improve it as you head toward your fifties?

Keep reading to get these questions answered and learn how to protect your score.

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What is the average credit score for 40-year-olds?

According to Chase Bank, the average credit score for Americans ages 40 through 49 is 684. This number falls into what is considered a "good" credit score, which means that if your credit score is this high or higher, you should have an easier time securing a loan.

Looking at average credit scores by age, 684 is a several-point improvement over Americans in their twenties, who have an average score of 662, and thirties, who have an average score of 672.

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Why does your credit score usually go up at age 40?

By this point in your life, you likely have at least a decade's worth of credit experience under your belt. You might also have a wider mix of credit types than you did in your twenties or thirties (including credit cards, car loans, and mortgages).

Since credit history, payment history, and credit mix are key factors in calculating your FICO score, you're likely to earn a higher credit score in your forties than you did a decade or more ago.

What factors can negatively impact your credit score at 40?

Along with more stability, 40-year-olds also tend to have higher expenses than their younger counterparts. For instance, depending on your parents' age, they might be starting to rely on you more financially. If you have children, you have to spend more money to keep your household running, which includes paying for childcare.

Plus, your financial habits are often ingrained by this point. Bad habits could help sink your credit score as you move through your forties, or good habits can keep your credit score on an accelerating path from this point forward. Either way, by 40, you're old enough that financial habits could be harder to break.

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How can you keep your credit score high?

Worried your credit score is below average for your age group? Don't worry too much: at age 40, you still have plenty of time to improve. Besides, unless your credit score is in the "excellent" category, you always have room for improvement.

These tips can help whether your credit score is where you wanted it to be at this age or not.

Keep your credit utilization below 30%

The more of your available credit you use up, the more negatively your credit score will be impacted. To keep your score high (and your finances healthy), bankers recommend utilizing no more than 30% of your available credit at any time, which means paying down credit card bills and resisting the urge to hit your credit limit.

Don't close out old accounts

While you should take care to lock cards you're no longer using and monitor your credit score for fraud, it can be smart to leave accounts open even when you're not regularly using them: having older credit card accounts instead of constantly opening new ones typically results in a higher credit score.

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Avoid hard inquiries into your credit whenever possible

When you apply for a loan, your lender will probably perform a hard inquiry into your credit, meaning they'll request a copy of your report so they can evaluate how likely you are to repay a loan.

Every time this happens, your credit score can go down by a few points. That said, hard inquiries only stay on your record for two years, and FICO scores only factor them in for one year. If you just do one or two (for instance, when applying for a mortgage loan), you shouldn't see too big an impact.

However, doing too many in a short period can indicate that you're opening too many credit accounts, which might have a more damaging effect on your score.

Set all your payments to autopay

Making payments consistently and on time is essential to a good credit score. As you add expenses to your monthly budget, make sure to set up autopay so you don't get dinged for an accidental late payment (or hit with late fees).

Bottom line

While using your credit score as a measure of financial health is a good idea at any age, the score you get in your forties can be particularly telling. Having a lower-than-average score might mean you're making some surprising financial mistakes, and discovering them now gives you the chance to change those habits before retirement draws any closer.

Plus, the gap between the 684 average for 40-year-olds and the 706 average for 50-year-olds truly isn't that vast. All you have to do is keep your record as clean as possible, and the compounding benefits of having a long, healthy credit report will ensure your score keeps improving.

FAQs

What credit utilization rate is recommended for a good credit score?

Most financial experts recommend keeping your credit utilization below 30% of your available credit. This means if you have a total credit limit of $10,000 across all cards, you should aim to carry no more than $3,000 in balances at any given time. Lower utilization generally leads to a higher credit score.

Why do credit scores typically increase as you get older?

Credit scores tend to rise with age because older consumers have longer credit histories, more on-time payments on record, and often a wider mix of credit types such as credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. These factors are major components of FICO score calculations, which is why the average score for Americans in their 50s is notably higher than for those in their 30s.

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