What Is a Good Credit Score?
Written by Andrea Coombes
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Dayana Yochim
The definition of a good credit score can vary depending on who’s doing the judging, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Quick take: A useful rule of thumb is that a credit score between 670 to 739 in the FICO score model and between 661 and 780 for the VantageScore model is considered a “good” credit score.
Tell me more! There’s nothing wrong with a handy rule of thumb, as long as you keep in mind that it doesn’t always apply.
- Lenders, landlords and others in charge of granting credit use many different metrics to decide who does and doesn’t qualify for their products. One lender might say a 670 credit score is good enough to qualify for their credit card or car loan; another lender, not so much.
- There are many different credit score algorithms, so you may see one number when you check your credit, while a lender, using a different scoring model, could be looking at a different number.
Bottom line: Rather than getting distracted by a number, focus instead on the best way to improve your score. The closer you move your credit score into the “good” to “great” range, the better your overall financial picture. A solid score buys you easier access to credit, and you’ll qualify for much lower interest rates, which means more money in your pocket for you to go out and live your life.
Filed under “hard to believe but true”
You can pay off your credit card bills in full every month and still have great credit. Put another way, you don’t need to carry a credit card balance month to month. And paying off that credit card debt in full every month means you’ll avoid interest charges. You could file that under “win win.”
Andrea Coombes shares what qualifies as a "good" credit score.
Get more personal finance tips and strategies
- What credit is and why it matters
- How to fix your credit score
- How many credit cards should I have?
- How to start investing
- How to save for retirement
- Best high-yield savings accounts
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About the Editorial Team
Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.
Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.
