What's in
my FICO® Scores?
FICO Scores are calculated
using many different pieces of credit data in your credit report. This data is
grouped into five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length
of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).
The percentages in the
chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining how your
FICO Scores are calculated. The importance of these categories may vary from
one person to another—we'll cover that in the next section.
Your FICO Scores consider
both positive and negative information in your credit report. Late payments
will lower your FICO Scores, but establishing or re-establishing a good track
record of making payments on time will raise your credit score.
The importance of credit
categories varies by person
Your FICO Scores are
unique, just like you. They are calculated based on the five categories
referenced above, but for some people, the importance of these categories can
be different. For example, scores for people who have not been using credit
long will be calculated differently than those with a longer credit history.
In addition, as the
information in your credit report changes, so does the evaluation of these
factors in determining your FICO Scores.
Your credit report and FICO
Scores evolve frequently. Because of this, it's not possible to measure the
exact impact of a single factor in how your FICO Score is calculated without
looking at your entire report. Even the levels of importance shown in the FICO
Scores chart above are for the general population and may be different for
different credit profiles.
Your FICO Scores only look
at information in your credit report
Your FICO Score is
calculated only from the information in your credit report. However, lenders
may look at many things when making a credit decision, such as your income, how
long you have worked at your current job, and the kind of credit you are
requesting.
What categories are
considered when calculating my FICO Score?
Payment history (35%)
The first thing any lender
wants to know is whether you've paid past credit accounts on time. This helps a
lender figure out the amount of risk it will take on when extending credit.
This is the most important factor in a FICO Score.
Be sure to keep your accounts
in good standing to build a healthy history.
Learn more about payment
history
Amounts owed (30%)
Having credit accounts and
owing money on them does not necessarily mean you are a high-risk borrower with
a low FICO Score. However, if you are using a lot of your available credit,
this may indicate that you are overextended—and banks can interpret this to
mean that you are at a higher risk of defaulting.
Length of credit history
(15%)
In general, a longer credit
history will increase your FICO Scores. However, even people who haven't been
using credit for long may have high FICO Scores, depending on how the rest of
their credit report looks.
Your FICO Scores take into
account:
- How long your
credit accounts have been established, including the age of your oldest
account, the age of your newest account and an average age of all your
accounts
- How long
specific credit accounts have been established
- How long it has
been since you used certain accounts
Learn more about length of
credit history
Credit mix (10%)
FICO Scores will consider
your mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company
accounts and mortgage loans. Don't worry, it's not necessary to have one of
each.
New credit (10%)
Research shows that opening
several credit accounts in a short amount of time represents a greater
risk—especially for people who don't have a long credit history. If you can
avoid it, try not to open too many accounts too rapidly.
