According to the Wall Street Journal (link below), the “Great Recession” predictably lowered the credit score of the average American due to increased defaults.
According to the WSJ, 25% of all Americans now have a FICO score of 599 or less. This compares to 15% prior to the “Great Recession” getting under way in December of 2007.
On the other hand, not that many Americans who were in the top two most-creditworthy categories (700-749 and 750-850) prior to the “Great Recession” have dropped into the lower three levels. Prior to December 2007, approximately 59% of all Americans had a FICO score of 700 or higher – 2 1/2 years later, and this number has only dropped to around 56-57%.