The UK’s leading price comparison site, MoneySuperMarket, today reveals the credit situation of young people in the UK.
The report, based on anonymised data from 200,000 people who have checked their credit score on the price comparison site’s Credit Monitor app and website, reveals that the average age Brits are first exploring their credit health is 39 [1]. However, with credit history available from the age of 18 and only 12% of credit checks on MoneySuperMarket made by 18-24-year-olds, young people may be putting their credit scores at risk by leaving it so long before checking.
The financial decisions you make as a young person can have a big impact on your financial future. Subscriptions and contracts, such as phone bills and gym memberships, are all factored into your credit history and building good credit early is key to ensuring you have the stability to apply for products such as credit cards, loans and mortgages further down the line.
In order to identify the UK’s most credit-mindful young people, MoneySuperMarket analysed average credit scores across the UK, as well as credit card uptake and the proportion of credit checks made by young people.
| Location | 18-24 Credit card uptake [1] | 18-24 Average Salary [1] | 18-24 Credit score [1] | Credit checks [1] |
| Leicester | 10% | £17,505 | 556.2 | 13% of credit checks in Leicester are made by 18-24-year-olds |
| Derby | 10% | £17,505 | 551.0 | 14% of credit checks in Derby are made by 18-24-year-olds |
| Milton Keynes | 7% | £18,816 | 559.1 | 13% of credit checks in Milton Keynes are made by 18-24-year-olds |
| Southampton | 7% | £18,816 | 559.7 | 13% of credit checks in Southampton are made by 18-24-year-olds |
| London | 5% | £21,781 | 557.9 | 17% of credit checks in London are made by 18-24-year-olds |
As well as the credit considerations, factors including the local cost of living, employment rate of young people and average salary were used to find the locations where 18-24-year-olds are in the best financial position.
In top place, Leicester benefits from a low cost of living at only £1,053 a month, while Derby’s second-place ranking can be attributed to a high employment rate of 65.5% among 18-24-year-olds.
Despite having the highest average salary countrywide, London’s young people have a comparatively low employment rate at only 51.8%, but this is still significantly higher than Birmingham, where it is 41.8%.
Young people in the South East have an average credit score of 557.2, while those in the East Midlands are seven points lower, at 550.1. 18-24-year-olds in the North East have the lowest average credit score at 541.1 – nearly 13 points lower than the national average of 554 [1].
Regionally, while the highest level of credit card uptake is in the East Midlands, where 10% of the 18-24-year-old population are applying for cards, the highest average credit score is in the South East.
