79% of Indebted Americans Would Take a Credit Score Hit to Get Debt-Free Faster, Survey Finds

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans with significant unsecured debt say they would accept a drop in their credit score if it meant becoming debt-free sooner, according to a 2026 survey of 1,800 people with at least $10,000 in unsecured debt conducted by Freedom Debt Relief and Money.com, according to Money.com.

Willingness to take the hit varies sharply by age. Nearly 40% of baby boomers said they would not accept any score drop, compared with just 9% of millennials. About a third of all respondents said they would give up more than 100 points to speed up their debt payoff, a share that rises to roughly half among Gen Z and millennial respondents specifically.

The findings don't mean people are ignoring the risk: 55% of respondents acknowledged that debt-reduction moves which lower a credit score, such as closing an active account, carry real downsides, and 45% said improving their credit profile is itself part of their motivation for tackling debt. Financial planner Matt Chancey said that for people deep in debt, "the score stops feeling like an asset and starts feeling like a leash, and cutting it to get free is a rational thing to want." Wealth manager Kevin Arquette noted that a temporary dip, such as from opening a debt consolidation loan, typically recovers quickly if payments stay on time — but cautioned against letting a score fall right before applying for a mortgage, car loan or apartment.