Mar 08, 2016

Chart: How Do Credit Card Utilization Rates Vary By Credit Score?

From CFPB report on Consumer Credit Card Market:

Screen Shot 2016-03-08 at 11.29.08 AM

Why do I like this chart?

  • Opportunity to discuss key credit terms in context: utilization, credit score, prime and subprime
  • Students see how various credit score subgroups utilize credit

Questions for your students:

  1. How would you describe the relationship between credit score and credit utilization percentages?
  2. Explain the relationship that you described in #1.
  3. In comparing the Overall line (dotted) to the other lines on the graph, what does this tell you about which group(s) has the largest influence on overall utilization rates?
  4. Compare the importance of credit to superprime vs. deep subprime borrowers.

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Check out the NGPF Activity: How To Make Credit Scores Engaging

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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