Millennial credit scores aren’t perfect – but they’re still buying homes

Millennial credit scores

Millennials now make up the biggest share of homebuyers in the country, but their credit is far from perfect. In fact, according to new data, average credit scores of Millennial homebuyers ranged from 662 to upwards of 750, depending on the city.

Credit scores from coast to coast

According to the latest data from Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker, San Francisco claimed the highest credit scores among Millennial homebuyers in May, with an average of 757.

Joe Tyrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae, says bigger, more expensive markets like San Fran typically require higher scores. Average scores in Los Angeles were similarly high, at 745, while Miami’s average was 722.

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Still, it wasn’t all large metros at the top of the list.

“There are some surprisingly high numbers in more rural areas, such as Mitchell, South Dakota, where the average FICO for Millennials was 735 in May, higher than Boston or Miami,” Tyrell said.

In Indiana, Pennsylvania – a small town of just 13,000 residents – Millennial buyers had an average score of 733. Madisonville, Kentucky, showed the lowest average credit score at 662. For reference, the average Millennial credit score across the entire country was 721 for the month.

Where Millennials are buying

According to Ellie Mae’s data, Mount Pleasant, Texas, had the highest share of Millennial buyers in May. A whopping 79 percent of all closed loans in the city went to Millennials.

Also claiming large shares of Millennial buyers were Mitchell, South Dakota (76 percent of all closed loans); Madisonville, Kentucky (71 percent); Indiana, Pennsylvania (70 percent); and Gloversville, New York (67 percent).

Most Millennials used conventional loans for the month, though 28 percent had FHA loans. VA loans accounted for only 2 percent of all Millennial mortgages.

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Get today’s mortgage rates

Don’t have perfect credit? Millennials have shown you don’t have to in order to buy a home. Shop around and see what mortgage rates your score qualifies you for today.