The 300 to 850 Scale

Both FICO and VantageScore run from 300 to 850. Lenders slice that range into bands - poor, fair, good, very good, exceptional - and each band quietly sets the prices you are offered.

Why it matters

The bands are not official law; each lender draws its own lines. But crossing a band boundary is real money: it changes approval odds, interest rates, deposits, and limits.

Key facts

• FICO's published bands: 800+ exceptional, 740-799 very good, 670-739 good, 580-669 fair, below 580 poor.
• VantageScore bands differ slightly: 781-850 superprime, 661-780 prime, 601-660 near prime, 300-600 subprime.
• The median FICO score in the U.S. has been in the low 700s in recent years.
• Moving within a band helps less than crossing into the next one.
• No score at all is also a status: thin or missing files get treated as unknown risk.

In practice

1. Find your current band, then identify the next boundary above it - that is the target.
2. Ask lenders which band their pricing tiers start at; sometimes the answer is specific.
3. Do not obsess over single points inside a band; aim at the boundary.