What Are Good Credit Scores

Good credit scores really depend on which lender is looking at them. One lender might give a good interest rate to someone with a credit score of 675 while another may use a credit score of 700 for that same rate.

The average credit score in the United States as this article in being written in the Spring of 2008 is 692. Now think about this. Mortgage lenders, burned by the defaults that seem to be growing everyday, have raised their "favorable rate" loans to require a credit score of 720.

Each state also has an average credit score. South Dakota tops the list at 710 and Texas anchors the bottom at 651 with Nevada challenging Texas with an average of 655. In no state does the average rank high enough for a favorable mortgage loan.

You'll notice that we highlighted the credit score range of 700 - 749. 42% of the people score below this range, and 40% of the people score above it. That would indicate that this range is where you move from average credit to good credit.

Making payments on time each month is the most important thing you can do to improve your credit score. The article, Free Annual Credit Report, explained that each of the three major credit bureaus has its own credit score based on the information it has about individuals. You can see below how the scores may differ from bureau to bureau.

We certainly recommend that you obtain a copy of all three of your credit reports. In our opinion, the primary reason you should get them is that you would be able to review the information each credit bureau has about you and identity any items that are not correct.

Knowing all three of your credit scores, again in our opinion, is more important to your financial planning. That's why we recommend you go direct to the source and get all three of your credit reports and credit scores from FICO.

Get All 3 FICO Scores and Credit Reports!