Technical correction and update to the CFPB's credit invisibles estimate
In 2015, the CFPB released a widely cited report that provided a benchmark for estimates of consumers with limited credit histories. More specifically, the report included estimates of the adult population in the United States who, in December 2010, did not have a credit record (“credit invisible”) or who had insufficient credit history to have a credit score (“stale unscored” and “insufficient unscored”).
Subsequent analysis with updated data and a methodological correction reveals that the original estimate of credit invisibles should be roughly cut in half, with an almost commensurate increase in credit records that were unscored. Our new data also show that the share of consumers with a scored credit record increased between 2010 and 2020.