CFPB & Credit Invisibles
A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that estimates the number of U.S. adults with limited credit histories, including those who are credit invisible (have no credit record) or have unscored credit records due to insufficient or outdated date, has been revised.
This report updates estimates for the year 2010 that were contained in a report that was issued in 2015. It also provides original estimates for the year 2020. The revisions to the 2010 data are due to methodological improvements and the adoption of a new, more complete data source from one of the three major national credit bureaus.
Revised estimates show that in December 2010:
- Credit invisibles comprised 5.8 percent of the adult population (13.5 million individuals), significantly less than the original estimate of 11.0 percent (25.9 million adults).
- Unscored credit records were 12.7 percent of the adult population (29.7 million individuals), higher that the 8.3 percent (17.2 million people) earlier estimated.
- Using the same data source and methodology as the revisions described above, by December 2020:
- Credit invisibles dropped to 2.7 percent of the adult population (7.0 million individuals)
- Unscored credit records decreased to 9.8 percent (25.4 million people)
Looking at the data from a different perspective, the percentage of adults with scored records grew to 87.5 percent in 2020 from a revised estimate of 81.6 percent a decade earlier. Given the challenges credit invisibles and those with stale or insufficient records face in obtaining the safe and reliable credit they need, this is an encouraging trend.
October 2nd, 2025
