 TITLE: Student Loan Debt Delinquency by Age CONTENT: Consumers With Most Delinquent Debt Still Maintain OK Credit Scores\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\nIt may come as a surprise that consumers with more delinquent student loan debt were not the ones with the lowest credit scores. Because payment history is the most important aspect of credit scores, logic would dictate that people consistently delinquent on loan payments would also maintain the lowest scores. While these consumers didn't have the worst scores of all the age groups, their collective average FICO® Score of 682 does fall more than 20 points below the national average of 703.\nThe consumers who held the most direct loan debt—ages 24 to 35—also had the lowest average credit score of any age group. And while there are several factors that could explain this, including that younger consumers may not have yet built a lengthy credit history, the trend defies other findings that show high debt doesn't necessarily equal low credit scores. END