According to FICO, only 1.6% of the population has an 850 credit score. It's incredibly tough to get there, but reaching an 850 score is possible.
In some countries that use other models, like Canada, people could have a score of 900. The current scoring models in the U.S. have a maximum of 850. And having a credit score of 850 is rare. According to the credit reporting agency Experian, only about 1.3% of Americans have a perfect credit score, as of 2021.
Highlights: While older models of credit scores used to go as high as 900, you can no longer achieve a 900 credit score. The highest score you can receive today is 850. Anything above 800 is considered an excellent credit score.
The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024.
And when it comes to credit, 850 is the highest the FICO® Score☉ scale goes. For more and more U.S. consumers, practice is making perfect. According to recent Experian data, 1.54% of consumers have a "perfect" FICO® Score of 850.
Your 820 FICO® Score is nearly perfect and will be seen as a sign of near-flawless credit management. Your likelihood of defaulting on your bills will be considered extremely low, and you can expect lenders to offer you their best deals, including the lowest-available interest rates.
There's no single, specific credit score that will automatically qualify you for a mortgage (though having the maximum score of 850 certainly never hurts). However, while lenders might not set precise qualifying numbers, they do have minimum credit score requirements.
Membership in the 800+ credit score club is quite exclusive, with fewer than 1 in 6 people boasting a score that high, according to WalletHub data. Since so few people have such high scores, lenders don't split the 800+ credit score crowd into smaller groups that get separate offers.
Your 840 FICO® Score falls in the range of scores, from 800 to 850, that is categorized as Exceptional. Your FICO® Score is well above the average credit score, and you are likely to receive easy approvals when applying for new credit. 21% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Exceptional range.
The minimum credit score needed to buy a house can range from 500 to 700, but will ultimately depend on the type of mortgage loan you're applying for and your lender. While it's possible to get a mortgage with bad credit, you typically need good or exceptional credit to qualify for the best terms.
Average credit score for people in their 50s
The average credit score for borrowers between the ages of 50 and 59 years old is 706. By this time people often have a very long credit history and a full range of credit types that affect the average score.
In 2021, the median credit score from Vantage Score for Black consumers was 639, while for white consumers it was nearly 100 points higher at 730 and Asian consumers' median was 752. Latino consumers were in between with a median score of 673.
For a $400,000 home, you'll likely need a good to excellent credit score: 740+: Best rates and terms. 700-739: Slightly higher rates. 660-699: Higher rates, may require larger down payment.
The credit score required and other eligibility factors for buying a car vary by lender and loan terms. Still, you typically need a good credit score of 661 or higher to qualify for an auto loan. About 69% of retail vehicle financing is for borrowers with credit scores of 661 or higher, according to Experian.
To buy a $250,000 house, you'll likely need a credit score of 620 or higher to secure a conventional home loan.
You've Missed Some Payments
Your record of making timely or late payments to credit card issuers and other lenders is the No. 1 factor in calculating your credit score. Your payment history makes up about 35% of your FICO® Score☉ , which is the credit score used by 90% of top lenders.
In most cases, a 900 credit score isn't possible as the maximum credit score caps out at 850 on the FICO model and the VantageScore model- the most commonly used credit scoring models in the United States. That said, having good credit can start at around 700.
VantageScore 3.0 considers a good credit range of around 750-850, while a good FICO score range is 670-739. Dealers may pull from either score, but the FICO score is used more often. As you can see, the higher the credit score, the lower the APRs for both used and new cars.
A FICO score is one type of credit score calculated by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). FICO has multiple credit-scoring models that are used to calculate credit scores, including a variety of industry-specific models for mortgage lending, auto loans and more. FICO scores generally range from 300 to 850.