Report: Blue states tend to have better credit

Political ideologies, stances on social issues and foreign policy are no longer the only thing that separate red and blue states. A recent CreditKarma.com report found, using TransUnion data, citizens of states that tend to vote Republican - red states - usually have lower scores on consumer credit reports, while people in states that are traditionally Democratic - blue states - often fair better. The report found that the average credit score in blue states is 667, which is 16 point higher than the average of red states. Debt collection is more necessary in blue states, however. CreditKarma.com found that residents of blue states generally carry more credit card debt, with an average of $6,201 versus the $5,856 average of citizens living in red states. SmartCredit.com's John Ulzheimer told Daily Finance that despite the debt disparity, red state residents generally have lower credit scores due to the relation of their debt to their credit limits. Time Magazine, citing a separate CreditKarma.com finding, reported that Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia and South Carolina have the lowest average credit scores in the nation. All 5 are typically states that vote Republican.