Does anybody have an 850 credit score?
Only 1.31% of Americans with a FICO® Score have a perfect 850 credit score. While a score this high is rare among any demographic, older generations are more likely to have perfect credit. Baby boomers make up a whopping 59.4% of the people with an 850 credit score.
While achieving a perfect 850 credit score is rare, it's not impossible. About 1.3% of consumers have one, according to Experian's latest data. FICO scores can range anywhere from 300 to 850.
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.
Less than 1.6% of people even have an 850 credit score, according to the credit-scoring company FICO, because it requires an impeccable payment history, low utilization and a diverse account mix, at the very least.
Your score falls in the range of scores, from 800 to 850, that is considered Exceptional. Your FICO® Score and is well above the average credit score. Consumers with scores in this range may expect easy approvals when applying for new credit. 21% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Exceptional range.
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.
Only 1.31% of Americans with a FICO® Score have a perfect 850 credit score. While a score this high is rare among any demographic, older generations are more likely to have perfect credit. Baby boomers make up a whopping 59.4% of the people with an 850 credit score.
The highest credit score you can have on the most widely used scoring systems is an 850. The widely-used FICO 8 scoring model and the VantageScore 3.0 both use a 300-850 scale. Credit scoring company FICO says about 1% of its scores reach 850.
For most credit-scoring models, including VantageScore 3.0 and FICO, the highest credit score possible is 850. We were able to speak to two Americans who belong to the exclusive FICO 850 Club: Brad Stevens of Austin, Texas, and John Ulzheimer of Atlanta.
Mississippi has the lowest average FICO credit score of all states in 2023 at 680, which is 38 points below the national average.
Is there a difference between 800 and 850 credit score?
“From the standpoint of qualifying for credit, it doesn't matter whether you have a perfect 850 or a score just below that,” said Ethan Dornhelm, VP of FICO Scores and predictive analytics. “To lenders, a consumer with a score in the 800s is a sparkling applicant.”
Generation | Average credit score (FICO) in 2023 |
---|---|
Generation Z (18-25) | 680 |
Millennials (26-41) | 690 |
Generation X (42-57) | 709 |
Baby boomers (58-76) | 745 |
Most consumers have credit scores that fall between 600 and 750. In 2022, the average FICO® Score☉ in the U.S. reached 714. Achieving a good credit score can help you qualify for a credit card or loan with a lower interest rate and better terms.
A credit score of 830 will generally qualify you for a lender's best interest rates. As a real-world example, the average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate was just over 7% as of late October 2022. However, the average rate paid by a homebuyer whose FICO credit score was 760 or higher was 6.583%.
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.
An 825 FICO® Score is nearly perfect. You still may be able to improve it a bit, but while it may be possible to achieve a higher numeric score, lenders are unlikely to see much difference between your score and those that are closer to 850.
After all, three million Americans have climbed the Mount Everest of credit score figures. If they can pull it off, why can't you do the same? A score of 850 can only be achieved with 10+ years of credit, excellent on-time payment history, low credit utilization, and no recent hard inquiries, which is a tall ask.
Only 3.1% of the American population has a credit score of 850 which is the highest FICO® Score anyone can achieve and is in the range of an “exceptional” FICO score, according to 2022 Experian® data.
According to FICO, about 98% of “FICO High Achievers” have zero missed payments. And for the small 2% who do, the missed payment happened, on average, approximately four years ago. So while missing a credit card payment can be easy to do, staying on top of your payments is the only way you will one day reach 850.
Your score falls in the range of scores, from 800 to 850, that is considered Exceptional. Your FICO® Score and is well above the average credit score. Consumers with scores in this range may expect easy approvals when applying for new credit. 21% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Exceptional range.
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