How Many Americans Have an 800 Credit Score or Greater?

23% of US Consumers Have Exceptional Credit

Even as belts continue to tighten for many consumers, scores for many continue to improve, especially for more seasoned consumers using credit. Close to a quarter of consumers in 2025 have a credit score considered exceptional—a FICO^® Score between 800 and 850.

Source: Experian data as of March 2025

The 23% of consumers with a FICO^® Score of 800 or higher improves on the 21.2% of consumers with an 800-plus FICO^® Score in 2023. Meanwhile, the share of those with fair, good and very good scores fell.

There are five factors that build a consumer's credit score:

• Payment history (35%): This is the most influential part of your FICO^® Score. Regularly making payments on time is key to building good credit, while even a single late payment can do serious damage.
• Amounts owed (30%): This looks at how much credit you're using—both installment loans and revolving accounts like credit cards. High revolving account balances relative to your limits—anything above 30% of the total credit available—can drag your score down.
• Length of credit history (15%): Credit scoring models consider how long your credit accounts have been active—especially the oldest, the newest and the average age of your accounts. Generally, the longer your credit history, the more your score can improve.
• Credit mix (10%): This reflects the variety of credit types under your name, such as credit cards, auto loans or mortgages. Successfully managing different forms of credit can have a positive effect on credit score calculations.
• Applying for new credit (10%): Applying for credit typically results in a hard inquiry that can temporarily lower your score.

Factors such as income and employment status can play a role in credit approval, but they don't have a direct effect on credit scores.

Older Consumers Dominate the 800 Club

It's inarguable that most consumers with 800 plus FICO^® Scores are older, no matter how elastic one's definition of "older" is. Among consumers with FICO^® Scores of 800 or better in 2025, more than half (55.5%) are over the age of 60. Generation X alone accounts for about a quarter (24.3%) of those with exceptional credit.

Exceptional Credit by Generation

That leaves only 20% for the younger generations who comprise more than 40% of the total consumer population. The vast majority of consumers in these under-45 generations—millennials and Generation Z—have FICO^® Scores somewhere under 800.

Some of this is simply a function of time. There's no magic way to speedrun the length of one's credit history, and that's one component most older consumers have and younger ones don't.

A shorter credit history means improvements must be made in the parts of one's credit score they may have some control over. That includes making credit payments on time, applying for any new credit both sparingly and deliberately and not using too much of the credit you already have.

Learn more: How to Improve Your Credit Score Fast

Several Factors Distinguish Exceptional Credit Consumers

In most cases, less is more for those with exceptional credit. On average, they have lower credit card balances, owe less on auto loans and only use 6% of the available credit on their credit cards. Any delinquencies can only be seen with a microscope.

Source: Experian data as of March 2025

Only mortgage balances are higher for those with good credit—perhaps a testament to their credit health. After all, those with higher FICO^® Scores will likely receive lower rates from lenders than those closer to an average credit score. If you receive a lower mortgage rate offer from a lender than others, you'll be allowed to borrow more while other borrowers may hit a ceiling.

Exceptional Credit More Common in Northern States

The exceptional credit map in 2025 remains largely unchanged from prior years.

Remembering that 23% is the overall U.S. percentage of consumers with FICO^® Scores of 800 or better, one can broadly see that Northern states have more consumers in these score ranges.

The state where the concentration of exceptional credit score holders is Minnesota once again. In 2025, 32.3% of Minnesotans had FICO^® Scores of 800 or higher. They're rivaled by their eastern neighbor, Wisconsin, where 31.4% of consumers had 800 plus FICO^® Scores. All other states in the U.S. are still under the 30% mark.

Percentage of Consumers With Exceptional Credit by State

Exceptional Credit Commands Lower Borrowing Rates and More

According to FICO, exceptional scores indicate that "your score is well above the average score of U.S. consumers and clearly demonstrates to lenders that you are an exceptional borrower." In practice, consumers with exceptional credit are more likely to receive approval for most types of credit—often with accompanying lower interest rates—than other consumers.

Nonetheless, even consumers with exceptional credit won't necessarily receive approval for big-ticket items, like a new home, if other lender criteria aren't met. With mortgage APRs still hovering close to 7% in 2025, lenders want to be certain that a borrower's income is sufficient to cover monthly homeowner expenses, even if they do have exceptional credit.