When it comes to credit, who has more financial finesse—men or women?  According to the latest analysis from Experian, the leading global information services company, the divide between men and women is notable when it comes to how they handle money, debt and financial decisions. Some highlights:

• Women's average credit score is 675 compared with men's average score of 670

• Women have 3.7 percent less average debt

• Women have 23.5 percent more open credit cards

• Women's revolving utilization ratio is 4.2 percent lower

• Women's average mortgage loan amount is 7.9 percent less

• Women have a lower incidence of late mortgage payments by 8.1 percent

The report analyzed multiple categories including credit scores, average debt, number of open credit cards, utilization ratios, mortgage amounts and mortgage delinquencies of men and women in the United States. Below is an overview of how men and women compared:

"There were several gaps between men and women in this study including the five-point credit score lead that the women hold. Even with more credit cards, women have fewer overall debts and are managing to pay those debts on time," said Michele Raneri, vice president of analytics and new business development, Experian. "Men appear to be taking on a bit more than women, specifically when it comes to the homes and the cars they buy, which could be affecting their credit scores."

Auto perspectives
The report also looks at the vehicle preferences of men and women and how those choices play into their overall credit and financial health. The top-line results:

• Women are more likely to purchase a more functional, utilitarian vehicle, while men tend to lean toward sports cars and trucks.

  • Specifically, men are more likely to purchase vehicles in the mid-size pickup, large pickup and standard specialty car segments. In fact, they are 1.37 times more likely to purchase a mid-size pickup truck than the general population.

  • Women are more likely to purchase small crossover-utility vehicles, mid-size sports-utility and compact crossover-utility vehicles. Moreover, women are 1.4 times more likely to purchase a small crossover-utility vehicle than the general population.

Additional insights
Other interesting findings from the study include state-level and metropolitan statistical area highlights that compare many of the data categories, including:    

• Credit scores

  • Men and women in Minnesota have the highest average credit score (703 and 710, respectively), while the men in Nevada and the women in Mississippi have the lowest average credit scores (645 and 640, respectively)
  • Minneapolis, Minn. has the  highest average credit score for men (705)
  • Green Bay, Wis. has the highest average credit score for women (709)
  • Men and women in Oregon have the largest gap between their credit scores, with 12 points between the average woman's score (689) and the average men's score (677) 

• Mortgage

  • The most significant mortgage gap occurs in South Carolina, where the average man has a mortgage loan of $186,407 and the average woman has a mortgage loan of $157,048, a gap of 15.8 percent

  • Women in Rhode Island and men in New Jersey have the most instances of late mortgage payments of any state in the study, while men and women in Montana have the fewest instances of late payments

Click here for a complete list of the cities and states that were analyzed in this study.

"Experian highlights this type of data to drive a conversation around credit and help people understand what a credit score means and how to manage your overall credit health," said Rod Griffin, director of public education for Experian. "The more insight and understanding people have about credit, the easier it is to build and strengthen your overall financial well-being."

Resources
For more than 20 years, Experian has been committed to improving consumer financial literacy and is dedicated to providing products and services that help consumers to better manage their credit reports and credit scores.

To chat with Experian live and learn more about credit:

• Experian hosts a daily #CreditScope at 2:30 p.m. ET on Periscope to answer questions about credit and money live.

• Experian hosts a weekly #CreditChat on Twitter and Blab every Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET with consumer credit expert Rod Griffin.

• Experian shares credit tips and answers credit questions daily on Anchor.fm. In a recent wave, our community shared their favorite financial apps.

In addition to helping consumers, Experian can help organizations make highly informed, data-rich decisions based on consumer credit trend behavior and find, segment, score and grow key populations. With this type of intelligence, Experian can assist in providing clients with the tools to provide credit insight to their customers and help stress the importance of credit education, which is an essential benefit to the lender and the consumer.