The average U.S. FICO Score was 714 as of FICO's March 2026 report. Scores run from 300 to 850, and "good" officially starts at 670 (FICO), with 740+ considered very good and 800+ exceptional. But here's the more useful truth: lenders don't grade you against the average; they use cutoffs. For many products, rate improvements flatten in the upper score tiers (though the exact cutoff varies by lender and loan), and being "above average" matters much less than being above the threshold for the loan you actually want.
The ranges, plainly
FICO (the score most lenders use) buckets scores like this:
- 300–579: Poor
- 580–669: Fair
- 670–739: Good
- 740–799: Very good
- 800–850: Exceptional
VantageScore (the one most free apps show) uses similar bands with slightly different labels. Both run 300–850.
What the average actually tells you (not much)
The national average was 714 as of FICO's March 2026 report and moves only a point or two a year. It's a fine trivia answer and a poor personal benchmark, for two reasons:
- Averages hide the spread. Scores cluster differently by age: younger people average lower simply because credit history length is a scoring factor and they haven't had time to accumulate it. Being 25 with a 680 is a different story than being 55 with a 680.
- Nobody lends to you based on the average. A mortgage lender doesn't care if you beat the national mean; they care whether you clear their tier. Chasing "above average" is answering a question no lender asks.
The numbers that actually matter
Instead of the average, know the thresholds for what you want:
- ~580: minimum for many FHA mortgage programs (with larger down payment options below that, though terms vary).
- ~620: often cited as a rough floor for many conventional mortgage programs, but mortgage eligibility is program-, lender-, and underwriting-specific, so treat any single number as an example, not a rule, and remember approval depends on more than your score.
- ~660–680: where car loan and card terms start improving meaningfully.
- ~740: very good territory: strong approvals, strong rates.
- ~760–780: for many products, rate improvements flatten in the upper tiers, so additional points tend to buy you little, though the exact cutoff varies by lender and loan.
That last one is worth keeping in perspective: there's rarely a prize for chasing 850. For many products, rate improvements flatten in the upper tiers, so past the cutoff your loan needs, additional points tend to buy you little. If you're above 760 and stressing about points, you've likely already cleared the tier that matters; go live your life.
"What credit score do you start with?"
A question people ask constantly, with a surprising answer: you don't start with one. There's no default 300 assigned at birth. Before you have credit accounts, you're simply unscored (sometimes called credit invisible). Once you've had an account reporting for a few months, your first score is generated. There's no universal starting score: where it lands depends on your first account, your balances, your payment history, and which model is scoring you. The reassuring part is that you're starting from new, not from damage, which is a much better position to begin from.
If your score is below the tier you need
No pep talk, just order of operations: check your three reports for errors first (fastest possible fix if you find any), then look at card balances (second fastest), then let on-time history accumulate (the slow, sure one). Which of those applies to you depends on what's actually in your file. We cover that in depth in our piece on why credit advice isn't one-size-fits-all.
Where Solid Credit fits
If you want to know which side of a threshold you're on, and why, Solid's free tools read your reports and show you what's driving your number. Not against the national average; against the things you can actually change.
Average-score figure: FICO Score Credit Insights Report, March 2026 (national average FICO Score of 714). This figure is rechecked at least annually.
This article is for general information, not financial or legal advice.
Common questions
Is a 700 credit score good?
Yes. It's in the "good" range and above many lending thresholds, though rates improve further around 740–760.
Do I need an 850 credit score?
No. For many products, rate improvements flatten in the upper tiers, so a perfect score tends to have more bragging value than practical value (though the exact cutoff varies by lender and loan).
What's the lowest credit score possible?
300. In practice, almost nobody is at 300; even significant credit damage usually leaves scores in the 400s–500s. If you have no credit history at all, you're unscored rather than low-scored.
Why is my score lower than average if I've never missed a payment?
Often credit history length or high utilization, both score factors that have nothing to do with missed payments. Your reports will show which.
