Here's where Fayetteville lands in a national study of credit scores

Fayetteville has one of the lowest median credit scores in the nation, one national study of credit scores found.

Coming in at No. 176, out of 182 cities analyzed, Fayetteville's median credit score is 628, making getting a car or home loan with a reasonable interest rate difficult, said Robert Gmeiner, assistant professor of financial economics at Methodist University in Fayetteville, on Wednesday.

“Anything that is in the high 700s or higher is pretty good. When you get below the 680 mark, it starts to get mediocre or fair,” Gmeiner said. “If you’re trying to buy a car and you have a low credit score, it’s going to be harder to get a loan and you’ll pay a high interest rate.”

Based on WalletHub's data, the median credit scores of residents in 182 U.S. cities were compared to determine the highest and lowest credit scores as of the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the study's methodology. The median figure is the middle number in a range, and in this case, from the highest to lowest credit score.

Several of the cities with low credit scores seem to be military towns like Fayetteville, Gmeiner said.

He said that young people need to be extra vigilant when it comes to taking on new debt, as experienced salesmen may prey on them and ruin credit scores with high interest rates.

“There are a lot of people like car lots that target and scam young servicemen,” he said. “One piece of advice is that if you’re getting a car or something, talk to a bank and avoid these scammers, don’t listen to the sales pitch.”

Source: WalletHub

Tips to improve your credit score

Gmeiner said that a young credit history and late payments bring a credit score down. He said that a credit history of one or two years is going to be lower than a score established over several years.

“Don’t ever be late, that’s the best thing you can do,” he said. “After that, you should start paying down credit cards because credit cards are unsecured, and unsecured debt brings your credit down.”

Gmeiner said that unsecured debt is debt without collateral, which banks consider riskier than a mortgage or car payment since the bank can foreclose on your house or repossess your car if you don’t pay up.

“If you want your credit score to go up, the only thing you can do is start to pay off the debt. You may be able to do some credit consolidation, but that will bring your credit score even lower,” he said. “You shouldn’t do any credit consolidation without having everything in writing, but if you want your score to go up there’s no other way to do that but paying it down.”

South Burlington, Vermont, claimed the No. 1 spot on the list with a median credit score of 736 and Detroit came in last place at No. 182 with a median credit score of 611, according to the study.

How did other North Carolina cities rank?

Greensboro came in at No. 149 with a median credit score of 647, followed by Winton-Salem, which claimed the No. 114 spot with a 662 credit score.

Charlotte got the No. 100 spot with a 667 median credit score, followed by Durham at No. 74 with a 677 score. Raleigh had the highest median credit score in the state at No. 62 with a 680 score.

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How good are credit scores in Fayetteville, NC? Study shows rankings