Experian Study Identifies Cities With Highest, Lowest Credit Scores

“Late payments and delinquencies such as foreclosures drive lower credit scores, and the State of Credit data shows that unemployment has been a major factor in contributing to higher delinquencies,” she said in a press release. “Certainly anyone who has lost a job understands how such a life event could affect their ability to pay their bills on time.”

In Harlingen, Texas, the city with the lowest average credit score, just half of citizens 16 and over are in the labor force, according the Census Bureau. In Minneapolis, where credit scores are highest, nearly 73% of the population is in the labor force. The unemployment rate for Minnesota in August 2010 was 7%, compared to the national rate of 9.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Texas, the unemployment rate was 8.3%.

An August poll from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that over half of respondents had taken steps to reduce their debt. Ten percent of respondents in that survey said they had begun reviewing the credit reports as a way to improve their financial situation.