Your credit score is a snapshot of how you’ve handled borrowing, scored from 300 to 850. It’s a math formula (the FICO Score dates from 1989, per myFICO), not a judgment of you — and once you know what goes into it, it stops being mysterious.
What is a good credit score?
Generally, 670 and above is "good" — that's where lenders start treating you as lower risk. Here are the five FICO ranges lenders use, and what myFICO says each one signals to them. Each lender sets its own criteria, so no range guarantees an approval or a rate:
| Score range | Rating | What myFICO says it signals |
|---|---|---|
| 800–850 | Exceptional | Well above the US average; an exceptionally low risk |
| 740–799 | Very good | Above the US average; a dependable borrower |
| 670–739 | Good | Near or slightly above the US average; most lenders consider this a good score |
| 580–669 | Fair | Below the US average |
| 300–579 | Poor | Well below the US average; the borrower may be a risk |
The average US FICO Score is 714, in the "good" range: FICO’s Fall 2026 report (August 25, 2026) says it was flat from October 2025 to April 2026 and one point lower than a year earlier. Higher scores generally qualify for better rates and terms (myFICO), but no one can promise you a score, a rate, or a timeline.
What actually makes up your score
Five things, with the weights FICO publishes (myFICO); FICO says the importance of these categories may vary from one person to another:
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | Do you pay on time. The largest category — one payment 30+ days late can drop a score, and how much depends on the rest of your credit history. |
| Amounts owed, including credit utilization | 30% | How much you owe, including how much of your available credit you’re using — which you can lower before each statement closes. (How it works and the number to aim for.) |
| Length of credit history | 15% | The age of your accounts. Older is better, which is why you keep your oldest card open. |
| New credit | 10% | Recent applications and hard inquiries; too many in a short span signals risk. |
| Credit mix | 10% | Having both cards and loans helps a little — but never take on debt just for the mix. |
The top two — payment history + amounts owed (which includes utilization) — are about 65% of a FICO score in FICO’s published weights, and they’re the two you most directly control.
What does NOT affect your credit score
Just as important as the five factors is what’s not in them:
- Your income or salary. They don’t appear in your credit report at all — the report covers your identity, accounts, payment history, inquiries, and public records, not what you earn. (Lenders ask about income separately on applications; the score itself can’t see it.)
- Checking your own score. Looking up your score or report is a soft inquiry — it never lowers the number. Only hard inquiries from actual credit applications count against you, and even those fall under new credit, 10% in FICO’s published weights.
- Cash and debit-card activity. Debit purchases and cash typically aren’t reported to the credit bureaus (CFPB), which is why paying for everything with debit builds no history on its own.
How to check your score and report — for free
Two different things, both free:
- Your credit reports — the underlying data — are free at annualcreditreport.com: one from each of the three bureaus every week, a benefit that became permanent in 2023 (FTC). The report is where errors live, so this is the one to actually read.
- Your score — free apps (Credit Karma and some banking apps) show one at no cost. Just remember the model caveat below: an app’s number is a reference, not the number a lender will pull.
And since checking your own score is a soft inquiry, you can look as often as you like — it costs nothing and touches nothing.
How long until you have a score?
With no credit history there’s no score at all — not a zero, just nothing to compute. For a first FICO score, FICO needs at least one account open six months or more and one reported in the past six months (VantageScore can appear after about a month). From there, the number follows the five factors above — most of all on-time payments and low balances. (When a first score can appear, and what no rule sets: your credit timeline.)
Why you have more than one score
There isn’t a single "your credit score." You have many, because:
- There are two main scoring companies — FICO (FICO says 90% of top US lenders use its scores) and VantageScore — and they weigh the factors a little differently.
- There are three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), and your data can differ across them.
- Free apps like Credit Karma show a VantageScore, which can differ from the FICO score a lender actually sees, and it can score you after about a month of history (FICO needs an account open at least six months). Use it to track trends, not to read the exact number.
So don’t panic over small differences between apps — watch the trend, not the exact digit. (For how the two models actually differ, see scoring models explained — this overview keeps it brief on purpose.)
How to move your number up
The score follows the factors, so (the percentages are FICO’s published weights):
- Pay on time, every time (35%) — set autopay.
- Keep utilization low (part of amounts owed, 30%) — and pay before your statement closing date so a low balance is usually what gets reported.
- Keep old accounts open (15%) and space out applications (10%).
- Starting from zero? Open one account and let time work — see how to build credit from scratch. New to the US credit system? Building credit as an immigrant.
The bottom line: 670 is "good," higher scores generally qualify for better rates (each lender sets its own cutoffs), and the number is just the sum of five habits — most of all, paying on time and keeping balances low.