Which generation has the best credit in the US?

A new analysis has looked at the credit scores of the generations in the US and found that on average, the older someone gets, the better their credit.

The data shows that average scores of the Silent Generation beat those of millennials by 100 points.

Using data from the 9 million users of the LendingTree platform, the firm found that the oldest cohort were the only group to have ‘very good’ credit scores and the younger Baby Boomers were the only group with ‘good’ scores’.

For Generation X and Millennials, scores were on average only ‘fair’.

Kali McFadden, senior research analyst at LendingTree, says that older people tend to use credit less and are often more settled financially with lower monthly costs.

The older someone is, the less likely they are to have high mortgage payments or student loan debts; and may also have less chance of urgent financial costs that can result in delinquencies.

Younger generations are more likely to have higher living costs and debt burdens. And the youngest will not have built up a credit history.

"Even someone who has handled their finances impeccably will have lower credit scores until they've demonstrated that across a mix of debt products over an extended period of time," McFadden said.