Credit Score Ranges Table
| FICO range | Band | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 300-579 | Poor | secured card first; every rate priced like a risk |
| 580-669 | Fair | approvals exist but carry deposits and double-digit APRs |
| 670-739 | Good | mainstream approvals; not yet the best advertised rates |
| 740-799 | Very Good | top-tier pricing on mortgages and autos opens here |
| 800-850 | Exceptional | the best advertised rates; lenders compete for the file |
The credit score scale has five bands, and everyone quotes the same cut points: 300-579 Poor, 580-669 Fair, 670-739 Good, 740-799 Very Good, 800-850 Exceptional. What the bands change is practical money: approvals, deposits, and the rate on the largest loans of your life - the mortgage pricing tiers open up at 740, and the best advertised rates live above 800.
Bottom line: 670 is the mainstream lending line (below it, approvals exist but carry deposits and double-digit APRs), and 740 is where top-tier pricing begins. Type a score above and the table names its band and meaning - the lookup exists because the cut points are memorized by lenders, not by people.
The honest part: the bands are FICO's frame (the industry-standard scale), and the practical column is a summary, not a promise - every lender prices differently. What actually moves the number, in order of weight: payment history, amounts owed (utilization - the lever with a 30-day feedback loop), length of history, new credit, and mix.
How to use
- Enter a score (or slide through) and read its band, cut points, and the practical meaning in the result.
- Scan the table for the band above yours - the next cut point is the target, and the distance to it is usually one billing cycle of good behavior.
- Work the levers in weight order: pay every minimum on time (history), drop reported utilization under 30% (amounts owed), and let the average age grow.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good credit score?
670 and above is the FICO "Good" band - the mainstream lending line where approvals stop requiring deposits. The bands above it matter more than most people think: 740 opens top-tier mortgage pricing and 800 unlocks the best advertised rates. Below 670, the same loan costs double-digit APRs and bigger deposits - the band boundaries are where the money changes.
What are the exact credit score ranges?
The FICO scale runs 300-850 in five bands: 300-579 Poor, 580-669 Fair, 670-739 Good, 740-799 Very Good, and 800-850 Exceptional. The cut points are the same across lenders because they all license the same scoring models - the ranges are industry infrastructure, not marketing labels.
How fast can a credit score change?
Utilization updates every billing cycle - paying balances before the statement date can move a score within 30-45 days, which makes amounts owed the fastest lever by far. Payment history is the heaviest weight but builds on months, not weeks; hard inquiries fade in about a year; length of history only grows. The fastest honest plan: on-time minimums plus a utilization drop.
Do all lenders use the same bands?
The five-band frame is universal, but the version of the score varies: FICO 8 vs newer FICO 10T and VantageScore compute slightly differently, and mortgage lenders still use older FICO versions by regulation. The practical read: treat the bands as the map and your own lender's version as the territory - a 40-point swing between models is normal and not a problem to fix.