How Many Americans Have a Perfect 850 Credit Score?
Quick Answer
As of March 2025, 1.76% of U.S. consumers had a FICO® Score of 850, according to Experian data. Some notable traits of consumers with a perfect credit score include an above average number of credit cards, lower credit utilization rate and lower than average total debt.
As of March 2025, 1.76% of U.S. consumers had a FICO® ScoreΘ of 850, according to Experian data. That's the highest this percentage has been since 2009.
In this analysis, we observed the same general characteristics of consumers with a "perfect" FICO® Score of 850 that we've found in prior years. That is, that they don't miss payments, don't use a high percentage of the credit extended to them and have been maintaining these responsible habits for years.
Distribution of FICO® Scores Among U.S. Consumers in 2025
Individuals with perfect credit scores generally have lower debt balances compared to the national average across all types of revolving credit and non-mortgage debt. When it comes to auto loans, for example, those with an 850 FICO® Score tend to carry smaller balances.
Characteristics of Consumers With 850 FICO® Scores
Those with an 850 FICO® Score have the same general characteristics found in prior years: lower balances overall, except for mortgage balances, which are only slightly higher than those of all consumers.
| Average … | All Consumers | 850 FICO® Score Consumers |
|---|---|---|
| FICO® Score | 714 | 850 |
| Credit card balance | $6,618 | $3,028 |
| Retail card balance | $1,180 | $188 |
| Number of credit cards | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Credit card utilization | 28% | 4% |
| Mortgage balance | $256,803 | $261,476 |
| Non-mortgage balance | $21,385 | $16,997 |
| Auto loan balance | $24,408 | $20,401 |
| Total accounts ever delinquent | 1.6 | 0 |
Source: Experian data as of March 2025
More importantly than debt balances, perhaps, are the metrics of credit utilization and delinquencies.
On average, U.S. consumers are using about 28% of their available balance on their credit cards, which is still below the 30% threshold when credit card debt starts to have a greater negative effect on credit. On the other hand, those with 850 scores use only 4% of what they have available, on average.
Perfect credit scorers have also pleased their creditors, with zero delinquent accounts in their credit history.
States Where Perfect Credit Scores Are More Common
In two regions of the U.S.—the Northeast and West—more than 2% of consumers have an 850 FICO® Score. Only in the Southern U.S. does a smaller share of consumers have perfect scores than the national average of 1.76%.
| Percentage of 850 FICO® Scores by Region | |
|---|---|
| Midwest | 1.83% |
| Northeast | 2.01% |
| South | 1.33% |
| West | 2.1% |
| U.S. | 1.76% |
Source: Experian data from March 2025
Note: Geography based on U.S. Census regions
Aside from the shading becoming a bit darker in states that have gained ground, the 850 FICO® Score credit map below resembles those of prior years. States with average credit scores that are higher than the norm unsurprisingly also have more than the national share of consumers rocking an 850 score.
Percentage of Consumers With 850 FICO® Scores by State
But higher percentages of 850 scores don't necessarily mean overall credit scores are higher in the state as well, though sometimes it's clearly the case, as in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mid-Atlantic states like Delaware and Maryland have a high percentage of perfect scores, but overall, credit score averages are at or even below the national average of 714.
| State | Percentage of Consumers With an 850 FICO® Score | Average FICO® Score (Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Minnesota | 2.67% | 742 (1) |
| 2. Hawaii | 2.62% | 731 (11) |
| 3. Virginia | 2.40% | 722 (22) |
| 4. Maryland | 2.36% | 714 (31) |
| 5. Wisconsin | 2.35% | 738 (3) |
| 6. Massachusetts | 2.34% | 731 (9) |
| 7. Delaware | 2.30% | 712 (33) |
| 8. Colorado | 2.27% | 730 (13) |
| 9. Washington | 2.26% | 735 (5) |
| 10. New Jersey | 2.22% | 723 (20) |
Source: Experian data as of March 2025
It could be in these cases that the states are adjacent to large metropolitan areas which are either doing well or, in the case of Maryland and Delaware, are adjacent to the recent tumult in Federal employment, which may already be working its way toward adversely affecting credit scores for some.
Top Metros With Perfect Credit Scores
Of the 374 metropolitan areas in the U.S., 102 boast more than 2% of consumers with 850 FICO® Scores—twice as many as the 50 metros when Experian last measured in 2024. Moreover, there's now a 3% Club: Metros where 3% of consumers have an 850 FICO® Score.
| 10 Metro Areas With Highest Percentage of 850 Credit Scores | |
|---|---|
| 1. Boulder, Colorado | 3.25% |
| 2. San Jose-Sunnyvale, California | 3.18% |
| 3. San Luis Obispo, California | 3.15% |
| 4. San Francisco-Oakland, California | 3.12% |
| 5. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, California | 3.11% |
| 6. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota | 2.99% |
| 7. Santa Rosa, California | 2.97% |
| 8. Honolulu, Hawaii | 2.93% |
| 9. Washington, D.C. | 2.90% |
| 10. Madison, Wisconsin | 2.89% |
Source: Experian data as of March 2025
The cities in this list that comprise the membership of this exclusive new 3% Club are by most measures wealthier than other communities. But there may be another explanation apart from Silicon Valley wealth: the California out-migration that's occurred over the past 10 years. As some consumers are priced out of these California communities, they leave behind those who are both content and able to afford the higher cost of living. In addition, caps on property taxes mean consumers can stay put even in the face of rising property insurance costs.
850 FICO® Score: A Worthy Goal, but Not Necessary
Although the obsession with a perfect 850 credit score will probably continue in the age of the quantified self, it may be more useful to use the characteristics of these consumers as a model to improve your own credit score.
Habits you could replicate to see a score boost include:
- Maintaining low revolving credit balances compared with credit limits; in other words, having a low credit utilization ratio. Those with the highest credit scores typically use less than 10% of their available credit.
- Making all debt payments on time. A payment history with few, if any, delinquencies reported on past and present credit accounts will help most.
- Growing a reasonably long credit history. Keeping credit card accounts open, even if you rarely use them, can help (assuming they won't provide too much temptation to spend).
Those with exceptional credit, FICO® Scores of 800 and above, will likely receive the same terms as someone with a perfect score of 850—all else being equal. Even those with FICO® Scores slightly below 800 may receive the same terms as those who have reached the top of the credit score scale.
Methodology: The analysis results provided are based on an Experian-created statistically relevant aggregate sampling of our consumer credit database that may include use of the FICO® Score 8 version. Different sampling parameters may generate different findings compared with other similar analysis. Analyzed credit data did not contain personal identification information. Metro areas group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for population censuses and compilations of related statistical data.
FICO® is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
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About the author
Chris Horymski
Chris Horymski leads Experian Consumer Service’s data research for Ask Experian, where he publishes insights and analysis on consumer debt and credit. Chris is a veteran data and personal finance journalist and previously wrote the Money Lab column for Consumer Reports and headed research at SmartMoney Magazine.
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