Residents of These 5 States Have the Lowest Credit Scores

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Your credit score is a measure of how responsible you have been with borrowing and paying back your bills. When you apply for credit cards , personal loans, or a mortgage, your potential future creditors are going to look at your score and credit history.

They want to see if they can count on you to pay back what you owe. Landlords, utility companies, and even insurance companies also take a look too, in some states and circumstances.

The good news is that the average American doesn't have a lot to worry about if their credit is checked. That's because, as recent research from The Motley Fool Ascent shows, the average credit score across the United States is 714. That's classified as a good score, as the scoring scale only goes up to 850.

Credit scores differ across the country, though. And in some locations, the average credit score is lower than others. In fact, here are the five states where residents have the lowest average credit scores.

These five states fare worse when it comes to credit ratings

According to The Motley Fool Ascent's data, the five states with the worst credit scores are the following:

In each of these locations, the average score is well below the nationwide average of 714. However, the scores still fall within the "good" range. To get out of that range, you'd need to drop below 670, in which case your credit might be just "fair" or "poor," depending on how low you go. Or you'd need to get your score above 740 in order to move from "good" to "very good."

Many factors could contribute to the fact that scores in these states are lower than average. Some, like Mississippi, have economies that aren't as robust as others -- but that's not the case for all states, as Texas doesn't fit that description.

Ultimately, the fact is that a number of residents in these locations may want to work on improving their score -- not just to bring up their state's average, of course, but to improve their financial picture going forward.

How to increase your credit score

Whether you're from one of the states with the five worst credit scores in the U.S. or you live elsewhere, it's a good idea to strive to improve your credit score over time. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do in order to make that happen.

Some of the best ways to give your score a boost include:

• Setting up autopay for your credit cards. This will ensure you never miss a payment, as payment history is the most important factor in the scoring formula.
• Keeping your credit card balances below 30% of available credit. Credit utilization ratio is the second most important factor in the scoring formula. This means if you have a credit limit of $1,000 on your credit card, you would not want your card issuer reporting more than a $300 balance.
• Being strategic about borrowing. You want a mix of different kinds of debt, including personal loans and other installment loans, as well as revolving debt like credit cards. You don't want to take on too much debt at one time, though, nor do you want to close old accounts, as length of credit history is also an important factor in the scoring formula.

By taking these steps, you can boost your credit score. If you live in one of the five states with the lowest scores, your efforts can also help to improve your state's average to help get it off this list.

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