Even as some households take on more debt, consumer credit scores broadly remain strong. Experts say that may be masking signs of trouble: The so-called "K-shaped" economic divide has lower-income borrowers struggling to repay loans , as higher-income households have strengthened their finances.

That divergence in consumers' credit risk will likely continue into 2026, despite having a "pretty healthy" national average credit score, said Silvio Tavares, CEO of VantageScore, developer of one of the credit scores lenders use. It's an independently managed joint venture of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax , Experian , and TransUnion .

The average VantageScore credit score was 701 in October, within a scale of 300 to 850. That's steady from a mont

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