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Generation Y has lowest credit score of all generations

Mar 21, 2012 Walt Wojciechowski

According to an Experian report, Millennials (those aged 19 to 29) have the lowest combined consumer credit scores compared to every other generation. Researchers looked at the VantageScores for Generation Y'ers, Generation X'ers (aged  30 to 46), Baby Boomers (aged 47 to 65) and the Greatest generation (aged 66 and above). VantageScores was established in 2006 by the "Big Three" credit bureaus - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax - and is a competitor of the Fair Isaac Corporation's FICO consumer credit score. Specifically, Gen Y had an average score of 672. This fell behind Gen X (718), Baby Boomers (782) and the Greatest generation (829). Conversely, Gen Y also had the lowest debt of the four generations ($34,765), although that is primarily a product of not being old enough to accumulate more. Forbes explains that employers may consider a low credit score a sign of poor decision-making, irresponsibility or an inability to meet deadlines, which compounds the already difficult time many Gen Y'ers are having in today's job market.