Credit Score Ranges Explained: What Each Tier Costs You

Bottom line: Every 20-point band in your credit score affects the interest rate you pay. The five formal FICO ranges are useful labels, but the real thresholds lenders use sit at 580, 620, 670, 720, and 740. Knowing which side of each line you are on is worth more than knowing your raw score.

Quick answer

FICO divides the 300 to 850 scale into five ranges: Poor (300-579), Fair (580-669), Good (670-739), Very Good (740-799), and Exceptional (800-850). The labels matter less than the lender cutoffs hiding inside them: 580 unlocks the lowest FHA down payment, 620 is a common floor for conventional mortgages and most auto lenders, 670 unlocks mainstream unsecured cards, and 740 unlocks the best advertised rates. Each tier you climb cuts the rate you pay; in the fair range, personal loan APRs commonly run several points above the market average of 11.48%. The fastest way to climb a tier is cutting reported card utilization, since utilization and payment history together drive 65% of the score. Understanding these credit score ranges helps you prioritize which financial moves matter most for your goals.

Your credit score is a three-digit number, but lenders read it in bands. A 698 and a 702 score get similar treatment. A 668 and a 672 may not, because 670 is a hard threshold in how most lenders price risk.

The Five Official FICO Ranges

FICO publishes five categories. They cover the full 300–850 range:

Most Americans cluster in the 670–799 range. The average FICO score was approximately 713 in September 2025, per Experian.

What Each Range Means When You Borrow

Exceptional (800–850)

Lenders treat this tier as the lowest risk. You will receive the best advertised rates, or sometimes better, on mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Approval is near-automatic for most products. Credit limits tend to be high.

The practical difference between 800 and 850 is small. Both scores clear every meaningful rate threshold.

Very Good (740–799)

This is the range where most lenders quote their advertised rates. If you see "rates as low as X%" in a mortgage or auto loan advertisement, that rate typically requires a score of 740 or higher. The difference between 740 and 800 is measurable but not dramatic, usually small on a mortgage.

Most people in this range should focus on maintaining their score rather than chasing higher numbers.

Good (670–739)

You qualify for most mainstream products in this range, including unsecured credit cards, conventional mortgages, and personal loans. But rates are not the best available, somewhat above the lowest tier on mortgages, and often more on auto loans.

The gap between 670 and 740 is often the most financially valuable improvement a borrower can make. The credit score vs. APR cost calculator puts a dollar figure on it for your loan size.

Fair (580–669)

This range is where lending gets expensive. You may qualify for a conventional mortgage (many lenders still want 620, even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped their own hard minimums), but rates are meaningfully higher. FHA loans are accessible from 580 with 3.5% down. Personal loan rates can be several percentage points higher than the best available; the current average personal loan APR across all credit tiers is 11.48%, and borrowers in this range typically land above it.

Poor (300–579)

Mainstream credit products are largely unavailable at this score. Secured credit cards (where you deposit collateral), credit-builder loans, and becoming an authorized user on someone else's account are the standard entry points. Approval for unsecured products is unlikely, and when offered, rates are very high.

The Thresholds Lenders Actually Use

Beyond FICO's five categories, lenders have their own internal cutoffs. The most common ones across mortgage, auto, and credit card lending:

• 580: lowest FHA down payment (3.5%); FHA also allows 500-579 with 10% down
• 620: common lender minimum for a conventional mortgage (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped their own hard minimums, but most lenders still use it); unlocks most auto lenders
• 670: widely treated as the "good credit" threshold for unsecured products
• 720: often the cutoff for the second-best rate tier at major lenders
• 740: the most common threshold for the best advertised rates
• 760: some lenders reserve their single lowest mortgage rate for 760+

Note that the score a lender pulls may differ from the free score you check; FICO vs. VantageScore explains why the numbers rarely match.

How to Move Between Ranges

The fastest levers are utilization and payment history: they account for 65% of your FICO score. Getting utilization below 10% (across all cards combined) can move a score from the fair range into good within 60 days. A single on-time payment cycle does nothing dramatic, but consistent payment history over six to twelve months is the most reliable way to climb through the tiers. Our credit utilization guide and how to build credit from scratch go deeper on the mechanics, and the credit utilization calculator shows how far you are from the 10% line.

Which Move Fits Your Range

Not sure whether the score push or a different money move comes first? Money Map ranks what each is worth for your situation.

Quick answers

Is 700 a good credit score? Yes, 700 sits in FICO's Good range (670 to 739), though the best advertised rates typically start at 740.

What credit score range is fair? 580 to 669. Products are available in this range but priced well above the rates quoted to good and very good credit.

What percentage of Americans have excellent credit? Roughly 23% score 800 or above (Exceptional), and about half score 740 or above.

Do lenders use the FICO range labels? Not directly. They price by internal cutoffs, most commonly 580, 620, 670, 720, and 740, which only loosely match FICO's published categories.

Sources

• CFPB: Credit reports and scores for how lenders use score data in pricing.
• HUD FHA loan requirements and HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11 for FHA score minimums (580 for maximum financing, 500-579 capped at 90% loan-to-value).
• Freddie Mac PMMS for mortgage rates.
• Experian: average credit score in the U.S. for the share of consumers in each FICO range (September 2025).
• myFICO: what is in your credit score for the 35/30/15/10/10 factor weights.
• Fannie Mae Selling Guide update of November 5, 2025, which removed the 620 minimum for loans run through Desktop Underwriter.

Rates referenced on this page were verified on October 22, 2026. Lender cutoffs and rate spreads vary by institution and change over time; confirm current pricing before applying. This article is educational information, not individualized financial advice.