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<p>Around here, credit is one place where credit is <em>not</em> due, at least according to a new report that looked at average credit scores for 2,534 cities nationwide.</p><p>Average credit ratings in Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Scranton all fell in the bottom 27 percent of the cities reviewed. Put another way, 73 percent of the cities on the list had better average ratings, compiled by WalletHub, a website that &#8212; not coincidentally, one suspects &#8212; offers free credit rating reports for those who &#8220;join the WalletHub community.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes-Barre residents had the best average credit rating among the three area cities, at a bit more than 654. Scranton was second at 653, and Hazleton had the worst local rating at 645.</p><p>Only three Pennsylvania cities were worse than Hazleton: Philadelphia (636), Bristol (633) and Chester (575).</p><p>The best rating in the state: Gibsonia, north of Pittsburgh, clocked in at 741, impressive but still well below the best credit rating on the national list: The Villages, Fla., at 779.</p><p>Of course, The Villages is pretty much one big retirement community, and it even bills itself as such on its website: &#8220;Florida&#8217;s friendliest active adult retirement community.&#8221;</p><p>The credit black hole of the U.S.? Alas, Camden, N. J., offers more fodder for those eager to dis the Garden State. It&#8217;s at the bottom of the list nationwide with an average rating of 566.</p><p>It&#8217;s true a score in the 650 range doesn&#8217;t sound so bad when the highs are only 100 or so points more, but the averages for Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Hazleton would generally be considered &#8220;below average&#8221; credit scores if you went to a bank for a mortgage, according to Angelo Ambrosecchia, a retail lending sales manager at FNCB bank in Dunmore.</p><p>&#8220;The way mortgages work, the better the credit score the better deal you&#8217;re going to get with our lender,&#8221; Ambrosecchia said. &#8220;Generally, a score of 740 and up gets the best deal possible.&#8221;</p><p>Each lender has their own criteria, but as a rule of thumb, &#8220;I think 680 to 740 would be good,&#8221; he said. &#8220;640 to 680, I don&#8217;t know if I can even say that&#8217;s average. And 620 and below would be poor.&#8221;</p><p>So how can we get our credit ratings &#8212; collectively or individually &#8212; higher? You&#8217;ve probably heard some of the drill.</p><p>&#8220;Paying bills on time is the most important thing,&#8221; Ambrosecchia said. But if you must pay late, make sure you pay before the debt is turned over to a collection company. Having a collection company come after even small amounts can be more damaging to credit than having a payment overdue by a month or two.</p><p>&#8220;What we see on credit reports are medical collections for very small dollar amounts, but they have enormous impact on the credit rating. &#8220;</p><p>And don&#8217;t take out a lot of credit cards to build credit. Some companies will actually lower your rating if you get too many credit cards too fast, Ambrosecchia said. &#8220;Too many requests for credit reports (by card-issuing companies) does become a red flag.&#8221;</p><p>Lastly, don&#8217;t assume paying the minimum on high debt keeps your credit rating down. &#8220;You&#8217;re not showing you can manage debt, even if you are paying on time,&#8221; Ambrosecchia said. &#8220;Generally, you want to keep a card balance to about a third or less of your limit.&#8221;</p><p>The report, and data for all the cities reviewed, can be found at <a href="https://wallethub.com/free-credit-score/#Pablo-R.-Martinez" target="_blank">wallethub.com</a>.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Area average credit scores</strong></p><p>Wilkes-Barre 654</p><p>Scranton 653</p><p>Hazleton 645</p><p>Source: WalletHub</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

No credit due for credit ratings in Northeastern Pennsylvania