Households in Kingston, Watford and Harrow have the highest average credit scores in Britain, new research has revealed.
Seven of the top 20 locations based on credit score are found in Greater London, including Twickenham, Sutton, Slough and Enfield.
Meanwhile households in Cleveland, Doncaster and Sunderland have the lowest average credit scores.
You can check how your area compares in the interactive map below:
The new interactive map, from Totally Money, looks at credit score by postcode and allows people to check what the average score is for their area.
Those living in Kingston upon Thames had the highest average credit scores, of 547, followed by those in Watford and then Harrow, both with scores of 545.
Good credit scores are obtained in a number of ways, including being on the electoral roll, making loan repayments on time, keeping all financial records up to date with the correct name and address and making sure there are no mistakes on your credit file.
If you have fallen behind with repayments, you are regularly being charged for going over a credit limit or you are making multiple applications for new credit this can have a negative affect on your credit score.
The majority of areas in the top 20 list were found in Greater London or the south of England including areas such as Oxford, Reading, Bournemouth and Hereford.
| Town | Average credit score | Average borrowing power |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Thames | 547 | 5.35 |
| Watford | 545 | 5.13 |
| Harrow | 545 | 4.82 |
| Guildford | 541 | 5.03 |
| Twickenham | 541 | 4.88 |
| Llandrindod Wells | 541 | 4.72 |
| Hemel Hempstead | 540 | 4.97 |
| Oxford | 540 | 4.9 |
| Redhill | 539 | 5.07 |
| Sutton | 539 | 5.04 |
| Slough | 539 | 4.92 |
| St Albans | 539 | 4.89 |
| Enfield | 539 | 4.88 |
| Aberdeen | 539 | 4.82 |
| London | 538 | 4.96 |
| Ilford | 538 | 4.81 |
| Wick | 537 | 4.93 |
| Reading | 537 | 4.92 |
| Hereford | 537 | 4.61 |
| Bournemouth | 536 | 4.82 |
| Source: Totally Money | ||
The only locations not in England were Llandrindod Wells in Wales, which was in sixth place with an average score of 541, and Aberdeen and Wick in Scotland, with scores of 539 and 537 respectively.
At the other end of the scale Cleveland in the North East of England had the lowest average score of 513.
It was followed by Doncaster and Sunderland with scores of 514 and 515 respectively.
As a county, Yorkshire was the worst performing and had six locations in the bottom 20 list of scores.
The results are based on data from more than 500,000 people checking their credit score through the website.
It uses Transunion (previously known as Callcredit) for credit checks and its scoring system is from 0 to 710, in comparison to Experian’s which is 0 to 999.
The higher the score, the better chance of obtaining credit.
The website also carried out research on 2,000 people and found 41 per cent incorrectly thought where they lived impacted their credit score and 63 per cent didn’t know that details such as being on the electoral role were listed on their credit score.
Those living in Kingston Upon Thames had the highest average credit scores of 547
More than half of those asked also said they were not aware that shared financial commitments were stored on a credit score, such as if you have a joint credit card, mortgage or loan with another person.
The website also included a figure showing borrowing power, which is something it uses exclusively to show how likely people are to be accepted for credit.
It is a number between one and 10 showing what lenders think of potential borrowers and it says it is based on real-world market activity along with consumer financial behaviour.
The top scorer, Kingston, had an average borrowing power score of 5.35 while Cleveland’s was 4.18, out of 10.
| Town | Average credit score | Average borrowing power |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | 520 | 4.44 |
| Leeds | 520 | 4.41 |
| Wigan | 520 | 4.39 |
| Kilmarnock | 520 | 4.24 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 519 | 4.46 |
| Dundee | 519 | 4.31 |
| Darlington | 519 | 4.29 |
| Newport | 519 | 4.27 |
| Wakefield | 518 | 4.41 |
| Blackpool | 518 | 4.3 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 518 | 4.28 |
| Oldham | 518 | 4.23 |
| Sheffield | 517 | 4.35 |
| Durham | 517 | 4.32 |
| Halifax | 515 | 4.41 |
| Hull | 515 | 4.31 |
| Wolverhampton | 515 | 4.25 |
| Sunderland | 515 | 4.15 |
| Doncaster | 514 | 4.24 |
| Cleveland | 513 | 4.18 |
| Source: Totally Money | ||
Joe Gardiner, head of brand and content at Totally Money, said: ‘Your credit score gives you a handy snapshot of how well you’re managing your money. And the credit “haves” in the South East score higher than the credit “have nots” in the North.
‘But whether you’re in Lands End or John O’Groats, you can check our interactive map to see if you’re a better borrower than your neighbours.
‘Of course, for the full picture of your financial fortitude, and to find out how to improve your score, you’ll need to check out your credit report.’
Earlier this month we reported on research showing that half of consumers do not check their eligibility before they apply for credit and of those 43 per cent thought checking their eligibility beforehand would negatively hit their credit score.
However, although checking your eligibility won’t make an impact on your credit score, applying directly with a lender and being rejected will leave a hard mark on your credit score, which other lenders will see.
There are a number of free eligibility checkers available, which perform what’s called a soft search and this doesn’t affect your credit score but gives you an idea on how likely or not you are to be accepted for credit.