Credit Score Basics

Experian, TransUnion and Equifax now offer all U.S. consumers free weekly credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com.

One of the tools lenders use in their decisions is a credit score. A credit score is a three-digit number based entirely and exclusively on the information found on your credit reports. When you have a higher credit score, lenders view you as a less risky borrower. Conversely, lower credit scores indicate elevated credit risk.

What Is a Credit Score?

Paraphrasing from the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a credit score is a numerical value derived from a modeling system used to predict the likelihood of default. To put it simply, credit scores are used to differentiate higher-risk borrowers from lower-risk ones. To do this, the main consumer credit scoring models, FICO^® and VantageScore^® , rank consumers using a 300-to-850 score range.

Credit scores are important because they are one of the core tools used by lenders to determine whether they'll grant you credit, and at what cost. If you have great credit scores, then you'll have access to competitively priced credit from many mainstream lenders. If you have poor credit scores, your options will be more limited and more expensive.

How Are Credit Scores Calculated?

The different brands of credit scores actually have many things in common. Both your FICO^® and VantageScore credit scores consider information from your credit reports that reflect your payment history, your debt, the age and diversity of your credit reports, and credit inquiries. While the FICO^® and VantageScore scoring models weigh the information slightly differently, your scores should never be wildly different if they are calculated from the same credit report at the same or similar points in time.

The most effective way to ensure that you'll have good credit scores is by paying your bills on time and maintaining low amounts of debt, specifically credit card debt. And, if you only apply for credit when you truly need it, then you won't fill up your credit reports with an excessive number of credit inquiries. Finally, scores tend to climb as the length of your credit history grows. If you perform well in all of these credit scoring categories, then you will likely have high FICO^® and VantageScore credit scores.

What Is Considered a Good Score?

The question of what is considered a "good" credit score is really best answered by your lenders. Because it's ultimately your lenders that are on the hook for monetary losses if their borrowers default, it's the lenders that decide what is and what is not a good score. Having said that, there is some general consensus on what is a good, or better, credit score.

As of mid-2020, the average FICO^® Score^☉ was 707, while the average VantageScore credit score was 686. As such, anything at or around 700 is about an average score. Lenders, however, are looking for considerably higher scores if they're going to approve credit applications with their best interest rates and terms.

For example, according to Informa Research Service, the lowest average interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are reserved for consumers who have FICO Scores of 760 or higher. The lowest average rates for a loan on a new car go to consumers who have FICO^® scores of 720 or higher.

Will Checking Your Credit Reports Affect Your Credit Scores?

It's always a good idea to monitor your credit reports and credit scores regularly, especially since you can get so much of your credit information for free. And, checking your own credit reports will not have any negative impact on your credit scores, as long as you're accessing your credit reports from the right places.

If you check your credit reports with any of the three credit reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax), your scores will not be impacted at all. The same goes if you check your credit reports through www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Checking your credit via either of these reputable methods will result in what's called a "soft" credit inquiry being placed on your credit reports. Soft credit inquiries do not affect your credit scores.

Be careful, however, not to ask connections who work at car dealerships or mortgage brokers to access your credit reports as a favor. This will result in what's called a "hard" credit inquiry being placed on your credit reports. Hard inquiries are usually the result of a consumer applying for some form of credit. While hard inquiries do not always impact credit scores, they can.

How to Improve Your Credit Scores

Because your credit scores are a product of the information on your credit reports, for you to improve your scores you will need to first improve your credit reports. Some consumers have poor scores because of negative information on their credit reports, such as late payments, defaults or collections. For those consumers, the journey to higher credit scores will take longer because that type of negative information can remain on your reports for up to seven years.

The best ways to improve your credit scores going forward, whether or not you have negative information on your credit reports, is to make all your debt payments on time—every time. Once the existing negative information starts to age and is eventually removed from your credit reports, you'll be well on your way to better scores.

If your credit scores aren't as high as you'd like because of excessive credit card debt, then the news is more optimistic. As soon as you are able to pay down or pay off credit card debt, your scores will likely improve because of the reduction in the highly influential credit utilization ratio, which considers your credit card balances relative to your credit card limits.

The Bottom Line

Credit scores are used by almost all lenders for almost all credit-related products, and are certainly central to the decisions made by mortgage, credit card and auto lenders. FICO^® and VantageScore credit scores are used billions of times every year and continue to be a common tool for lenders during the application process.

Not only is it a good idea to check your credit reports and credit scores often, but it's also in your best financial interest to improve your credit reports so your credit scores will benefit.

How Credit Scores Help You and Actions You can Take

What Is a Good Credit Score?
A credit score that’s at least in the high 600s is often considered a good credit score. However, there’s still room to improve. Here’s what to know.
Credit Score Basics: Everything You Need to Know
Your credit scores can affect many aspects of your life, and learning more about how credit scores actually work can take some of the mystery and confusion out of...
What Is a Bad Credit History and Rating?
To some extent, “bad credit” is whatever a lender decides it is, but some indicators and credit history events are deal-killers with virtually every lender.
How to Improve Your Credit Score
There are steps you can take to increase your credit score, and the sooner you address certain factors, the faster your credit score will go up.
What Is My Credit Score?
Your credit scores helps lenders decide how likely you are to repay debt.
What Is a Credit Utilization Rate?
Your credit utilization ratio, sometimes called your credit utilization rate, is the amount of revolving credit you're using divided by the total amount of revolving credit you have available....
What Affects Your Credit Scores?
Knowing what factors and types of accounts affect your credit score is the first step to improving your credit—which could save you thousands over time.

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

300 credit score 301 credit score 302 credit score 303 credit score 304 credit score 305 credit score 306 credit score 307 credit score 308 credit score 309 credit score 310 credit score 311 credit score 312 credit score 313 credit score 314 credit score 315 credit score 316 credit score 317 credit score 318 credit score 319 credit score 320 credit score 321 credit score 322 credit score 323 credit score 324 credit score 325 credit score 326 credit score 327 credit score 328 credit score 329 credit score 330 credit score 331 credit score 332 credit score 333 credit score 334 credit score 335 credit score 336 credit score 337 credit score 338 credit score 339 credit score 340 credit score 341 credit score 342 credit score 343 credit score 344 credit score 345 credit score 346 credit score 347 credit score 348 credit score 349 credit score 350 credit score 351 credit score 352 credit score 353 credit score 354 credit score 355 credit score 356 credit score 357 credit score 358 credit score 359 credit score 360 credit score 361 credit score 362 credit score 363 credit score 364 credit score 365 credit score 366 credit score 367 credit score 368 credit score 369 credit score 370 credit score 371 credit score 372 credit score 373 credit score 374 credit score 375 credit score 376 credit score 377 credit score 378 credit score 379 credit score 380 credit score 381 credit score 382 credit score 383 credit score 384 credit score 385 credit score 386 credit score 387 credit score 388 credit score 389 credit score 390 credit score 391 credit score 392 credit score 393 credit score 394 credit score 395 credit score 396 credit score 397 credit score 398 credit score 399 credit score 400 credit score 401 credit score 402 credit score 403 credit score 404 credit score 405 credit score 406 credit score 407 credit score 408 credit score 409 credit score 410 credit score 411 credit score 412 credit score 413 credit score 414 credit score 415 credit score 416 credit score 417 credit score 418 credit score 419 credit score 420 credit score 421 credit score 422 credit score 423 credit score 424 credit score 425 credit score 426 credit score 427 credit score 428 credit score 429 credit score 430 credit score 431 credit score 432 credit score 433 credit score 434 credit score 435 credit score 436 credit score 437 credit score 438 credit score 439 credit score 440 credit score 441 credit score 442 credit score 443 credit score 444 credit score 445 credit score 446 credit score 447 credit score 448 credit score 449 credit score 450 credit score 451 credit score 452 credit score 453 credit score 454 credit score 455 credit score 456 credit score 457 credit score 458 credit score 459 credit score 460 credit score 461 credit score 462 credit score 463 credit score 464 credit score 465 credit score 466 credit score 467 credit score 468 credit score 469 credit score 470 credit score 471 credit score 472 credit score 473 credit score 474 credit score 475 credit score 476 credit score 477 credit score 478 credit score 479 credit score 480 credit score 481 credit score 482 credit score 483 credit score 484 credit score 485 credit score 486 credit score 487 credit score 488 credit score 489 credit score 490 credit score 491 credit score 492 credit score 493 credit score 494 credit score 495 credit score 496 credit score 497 credit score 498 credit score 499 credit score 500 credit score 501 credit score 502 credit score 503 credit score 504 credit score 505 credit score 506 credit score 507 credit score 508 credit score 509 credit score 510 credit score 511 credit score 512 credit score 513 credit score 514 credit score 515 credit score 516 credit score 517 credit score 518 credit score 519 credit score 520 credit score 521 credit score 522 credit score 523 credit score 524 credit score 525 credit score 526 credit score 527 credit score 528 credit score 529 credit score 530 credit score 531 credit score 532 credit score 533 credit score 534 credit score 535 credit score 536 credit score 537 credit score 538 credit score 539 credit score 540 credit score 541 credit score 542 credit score 543 credit score 544 credit score 545 credit score 546 credit score 547 credit score 548 credit score 549 credit score 550 credit score 551 credit score 552 credit score 553 credit score 554 credit score 555 credit score 556 credit score 557 credit score 558 credit score 559 credit score 560 credit score 561 credit score 562 credit score 563 credit score 564 credit score 565 credit score 566 credit score 567 credit score 568 credit score 569 credit score 570 credit score 571 credit score 572 credit score 573 credit score 574 credit score 575 credit score 576 credit score 577 credit score 578 credit score 579 credit score

580 credit score 581 credit score 582 credit score 583 credit score 584 credit score 585 credit score 586 credit score 587 credit score 588 credit score 589 credit score 590 credit score 591 credit score 592 credit score 593 credit score 594 credit score 595 credit score 596 credit score 597 credit score 598 credit score 599 credit score 600 credit score 601 credit score 602 credit score 603 credit score 604 credit score 605 credit score 606 credit score 607 credit score 608 credit score 609 credit score 610 credit score 611 credit score 612 credit score 613 credit score 614 credit score 615 credit score 616 credit score 617 credit score 618 credit score 619 credit score 620 credit score 621 credit score 622 credit score 623 credit score 624 credit score 625 credit score 626 credit score 627 credit score 628 credit score 629 credit score 630 credit score 631 credit score 632 credit score 633 credit score 634 credit score 635 credit score 636 credit score 637 credit score 638 credit score 639 credit score 640 credit score 641 credit score 642 credit score 643 credit score 644 credit score 645 credit score 646 credit score 647 credit score 648 credit score 649 credit score 650 credit score 651 credit score 652 credit score 653 credit score 654 credit score 655 credit score 656 credit score 657 credit score 658 credit score 659 credit score 660 credit score 661 credit score 662 credit score 663 credit score 664 credit score 665 credit score 666 credit score 667 credit score 668 credit score 669 credit score

670 credit score 671 credit score 672 credit score 673 credit score 674 credit score 675 credit score 676 credit score 677 credit score 678 credit score 679 credit score 680 credit score 681 credit score 682 credit score 683 credit score 684 credit score 685 credit score 686 credit score 687 credit score 688 credit score 689 credit score 690 credit score 691 credit score 692 credit score 693 credit score 694 credit score 695 credit score 696 credit score 697 credit score 698 credit score 699 credit score 700 credit score 701 credit score 702 credit score 703 credit score 704 credit score 705 credit score 706 credit score 707 credit score 708 credit score 709 credit score 710 credit score 711 credit score 712 credit score 713 credit score 714 credit score 715 credit score 716 credit score 717 credit score 718 credit score 719 credit score 720 credit score 721 credit score 722 credit score 723 credit score 724 credit score 725 credit score 726 credit score 727 credit score 728 credit score 729 credit score 730 credit score 731 credit score 732 credit score 733 credit score 734 credit score 735 credit score 736 credit score 737 credit score 738 credit score 739 credit score

740 credit score 741 credit score 742 credit score 743 credit score 744 credit score 745 credit score 746 credit score 747 credit score 748 credit score 749 credit score 750 credit score 751 credit score 752 credit score 753 credit score 754 credit score 755 credit score 756 credit score 757 credit score 758 credit score 759 credit score 760 credit score 761 credit score 762 credit score 763 credit score 764 credit score 765 credit score 766 credit score 767 credit score 768 credit score 769 credit score 770 credit score 771 credit score 772 credit score 773 credit score 774 credit score 775 credit score 776 credit score 777 credit score 778 credit score 779 credit score 780 credit score 781 credit score 782 credit score 783 credit score 784 credit score 785 credit score 786 credit score 787 credit score 788 credit score 789 credit score 790 credit score 791 credit score 792 credit score 793 credit score 794 credit score 795 credit score 796 credit score 797 credit score 798 credit score 799 credit score

Resources

Credit Score

Credit Report

Fraud & Identity Theft

Improve Credit

Personal Finance

Calculators

Credit Score Basics

In this article:

What Is a Credit Score?

How Are Credit Scores Calculated?

What Is Considered a Good Score?

Will Checking Your Credit Reports Affect Your Credit Scores?

How to Improve Your Credit Scores

The Bottom Line

How Credit Scores Help You and Actions You can Take

What Makes a Good Credit Score?

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews

Credit support

Credit advice

Most popular

Credit reports

Credit scores

Improving credit

Establishing credit

Identity Theft support

Identity Theft Advice

Most popular

Identity theft and fraud

Cybersecurity

Privacy

Money advice

Most popular

Digital checking account

Save money on bills

Credit Card advice

Most popular

Balance transfer

Cash back

For bad credit

For fair credit

For students

APR

Rewards

New to credit

Loan advice

Most popular

Debt consolidation

Personal

Auto Insurance advice

Most popular

In this article:

What Is a Credit Score?

How Are Credit Scores Calculated?

What Is Considered a Good Score?

Will Checking Your Credit Reports Affect Your Credit Scores?

How to Improve Your Credit Scores

The Bottom Line

How Credit Scores Help You and Actions You can Take

What Makes a Good Credit Score?

How Good Is Your Credit Score?

Resources

Latest Research

Latest Reviews