Answer: 650

From Rentcafe study: 

"Rental applicants approved for an apartment in 2017 had an average credit score of 650, is the conclusion of our most recent study based on tenant screening data from RentGrow. Meanwhile, those that ended up on the rejected list had an average score of 538."

Even more interesting is how the average credit score varies so dramatically based on location. Here's the ten most difficult markets to rent an apartment, based on the average credit score for those approved to rent an apartment:

Question:

• Why do you think landlords care about an applicant's credit score when deciding whose application to accept for a rental apartment?
• How does the average rent and rental increases on these ten cities differ from national averages?
• Why do you think landlords in these cities have such high standards when it comes to accepting applicants? 
• If you want to rent an apartment after high school or college, what can you do to start to establish credit?

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

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Is it better to rent or own? Check out this NGPF interactive and find out!

Check out this cool interactive that shows what $1,500 in rent buys you in different cities. 

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NGPF has just started a new service: The Daily QuoD (that's Question of the Day in NGPF-speak!). Subscribe to our blog (right hand side of NGPF Blog homepage) and you will receive a new QuoD every weekday during the school ready to use in your classroom. Enjoy!

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.