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Despite the cost of living here, many locals have excellent scores

Having a good credit score can help lower your credit card interest rates and make it easier to get approved for a mortgage. It can even help you land a job.

Despite one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation and an increasing cost of living, residents in three Bay Area cities have some of the best median credit scores in the nation, according to the personal finance website WalletHub.

San Francisco ranked first among large cities, with a median credit score of 745, followed by San Jose in fourth place with a median score of 730. Oakland came in 18th among cities with 300,000 or more residents, with a median score of 686.

The rankings are based on TransUnion scores, which range from 300 to 850. Generally, scores higher than 660 are considered good and scores above 780 are considered excellent.

Among midsize cities, Sunnyvale had the second highest median score in the nation, at 755. Number one was Highlands Ranch, Colorado, just south of Denver, which had a median credit score of 761. Fremont ranked fifth, with a median score of 754. Other midsize Bay Area cities near the top were San Mateo and Santa Clara, in 13th and 14th places respectively, and Berkeley in 20th with a median score of 741.

The most credit-savvy residents in the Bay Area may be in Los Altos, which at 782 had the sixth highest median credit score in the nation among cities of all sizes and the sixth highest among cities with fewer than 100,000 residents.

Los Altos residents’ good credit is no doubt helped by a median household income of about $208,300, more than three times the statewide median. In addition, the city’s roughly 30,500 residents are older, with a median age of almost 46, about 10 years older than the state median.

“People tend to get more responsible about their spending as they get older, and this could

be one of the reasons why communities with olderthan-average residents have highest overall credit scores,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub, in an email.

Gonzalez added that

because credit scores consider a customer’s credit history, people who’ve been making purchases and paying off loans for a long time could see a boost in their scores.

Two other Bay Area cities were among the best small cities. San Carlos came in at 16th with a median score of 773, followed by Cupertino in 18th place with a score of 772.

For residents seeking to catch up with, or stay ahead of, their neighbors’ credit scores, Gonzalez said there are some steps they can take to help improve their numbers: Pay your bills on time and limit yourself to using only 30 percent of the credit available to you.