Millennials Less Concerned With Credit Scoring Than Boomers or Gen Xers

The results of Discover’s annual credit health survey are in — and as it turns out, millennials as a generation are somewhat less into checking or being controlled by their credit score than their older siblings in Generation X or their Baby Boomer parents.

Among millennial survey respondents, 54 percent say their credit score is important to them at the moment — as opposed to 63 percent of Xers and 65 percent of Boomers. Millennials are also far less likely to know what their credit score is than their counterparts in previous generations. Among the Gen x and Baby boomer sets, 74 and 85 percent noted being aware of their credit health. That far and away outstrips millennials’ knowledge — which stands, according to Discover, at 57 percent.

But that result is somewhat unsurprising, considering that millennials are also the generation to have the least faith that their credit score is in their control anyway — just over half (51 percent) of the youngest and largest generation believe that. Their older siblings in Gen X are a bit more optimistic at 62 percent — and their parents are dripping with faith in their ability to control their credit score with 80 percent answering affirmatively to that question.

The good news?

This may be a phase that millennials are outgrowing, according to survey data. Data in the survey also found that among those who checked their score within the past year, 54 percent of younger consumers reported that checking their score had a positive impact on their credit behavior and consumer habits, compared to 48 percent of Generation X and 41 percent of Baby Boomers.

“One of the best pieces of advice I can offer young consumers is to get on top of their credit standing early and often,” says Scully. “Don’t wait to check your credit score until just before you’re ready to make a big purchase or apply for a loan. If you get in the habit of checking your credit score at a young age, you can start learning about and building the types of credit behaviors and consumer habits that can, over time, contribute to a healthy credit score,” noted Discover VP Ryan Scully.