The credit scores of consumers in Nevada are tanking as Nevadans continue to struggle to pay their bills. The average credit score in the state has dropped 12 points since the first quarter of last year to 618 from the average score of 630 (“Nevadans’ Credit Scores Dip as Economy Tanks,” Reno Gazette-Journal, May 31, 2009).

This drop in the average credit score occurred at the same time that the state saw some of the highest delinquency rates nationwide on credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans.

In fact, Nevada had the country’s highest credit card delinquency rate, the second highest 60-day mortgage delinquency rate, and the eighth-highest delinquency rate for auto loans, according to TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus.

TransUnion’s director of consumer education, Steven Katz, said that given the state’s delinquency-rate trifecta, it’s not surprising that Nevadans’ credit scores are dropping.

“No. 1, you had people paying late,” he said. “No. 2, you had people applying for a lot of credit cards to pay their bill. And while all that is happening, the balance on all their accounts kept going up and up. All those things will pull down your score.”

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