What's a good credit score for 19 year old?
Consider yourself in “good” shape if your credit score is above the average for people in your age group. Given that the average credit score for people aged 18 to 25 is 679, a score between 679 and 687 (the average for people aged 26 to 41) could be considered “good”.
| Age Bracket | 2022 |
|---|---|
| 18–25 | 679 (Good) |
| 26–41 | 687 (Good) |
| 42–57 | 706 (Good) |
| 58–76 | 742 (Very Good) |
According to credit bureau Experian, a good credit score is 700 or above. But if you're in your 20s and just starting out, a score of 700 or higher may be tough as you're just establishing your credit history.
Anywhere between 670 to 739 is considered good. A credit score between 740 to 799 is considered very good. Credit scores 800 and up are considered excellent. Someone with a VantageScore that's 600 or less is considered to have poor or very poor credit.
A 770 credit score is often considered very good — or even excellent. A very good or excellent credit score can mean you're more likely to be approved for good offers and rates when it comes to mortgages, auto loans and credit cards with rewards and other perks.
According to Experian® data, the average American credit score for the age group 18-24 was 679 as of September 2022. This falls in the good FICO® credit score range (670-739). But there is no ideal or exact credit score you must have as soon as you turn 20 since everyone's financial journey is different.
Home loans
Technically, a 710 credit score is high enough to qualify for a home loan. In the tight real estate market, some lenders choose more restrictive qualifications to further reduce the risk that the loan won't be repaid.
A credit score of 700 or more is considered good and acceptable by most banks/lenders. Score is not a factor of the age of individual. Irrespective of one's age, 700 or more score is good. If you are just 20, that means you may not have had much exposure to credit/loans yet.
The “prime range” runs from 661 through 780. If your credit score is anywhere between 700 to 709, you are in the middle of this segment, and you can get competitive rates to finance your vehicle. However, these depend on your shopping habits, income, and debt-to-income ratio.
How rare is a 720 credit score?
| Credit Score | Tier | Percentage of Americans |
|---|---|---|
| 720 – 850 | Excellent | 38.12% |
| 660 – 719 | Good | 17.33% |
| 620 – 659 | Fair/Limited | 13.47% |
| 300 – 619 | Bad | 31.08% |
Home loans
Assuming you have enough income, a 720 credit score is likely high enough to help you get a government-backed mortgage such as an FHA for VA loan. However, it's probably not high enough to get the lowest interest rates available.
You can borrow $50,000 - $100,000+ with a 720 credit score. The exact amount of money you will get depends on other factors besides your credit score, such as your income, your employment status, the type of loan you get, and even the lender.
Your score falls within the range of scores, from 740 to 799, that is considered Very Good. A 770 FICO® Score is above the average credit score. Consumers in this range may qualify for better interest rates from lenders. 25% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Very Good range.
If you're more interested in a personal loan, you could borrow up to $100,000. The best personal loans for a 770 credit score are from LightStream because they offer $5,000 - $100,000 in funding with APRs of 7.99% - 25.99% and repayment periods of 24 - 84 months.
Buying a home with an 770 credit score
To illustrate this, as of Nov. 1, 2022, the average mortgage APR in the U.S. was approximately 7.1%. Borrowers with a 760 FICO Score or higher received an average APR of 6.61%, while those in the 700-759 range had an average APR of 6.83%.
A 750 credit score is considered excellent on commonly used FICO and VantageScore scales, which range from 300 to 850. The exception is if you are new to credit because a high score isn't always enough. The length of your credit history and how much debt you carry relative to your income also matter.
A credit score of 620 is a “bad” credit score, unfortunately. It is 80 points away from being a “good” credit score, which many people use as a benchmark, and 20 points from being “fair.” Such a score will make it difficult to get approved for a decent loan or line of credit.
As you might expect, the numbers skew much higher for certain generations, while younger consumers tend to have much lower credit card limits. In 2022, Generation Z (ages 18-25) averaged a total credit limit of $11,290 across all credit accounts, far lowest among the five generations presented.
You can afford a home up to $245,000 with a mortgage of $240,562. This assumes an FHA loan at 3.5% down, a base loan amount of $236,425 plus the FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75%, low debts, good credit, a rate of 7%, and a total debt-to-income ratio of 50%.
How do I boost my credit score?
- Review your credit reports.
- Get a handle on bill payments.
- Use 30% or less of your available credit.
- Limit requests for new credit.
- Pad out a thin credit file.
- Keep your old accounts open and deal with delinquencies.
- Consider consolidating your debt.
- Track your progress with credit monitoring.
Assuming you have enough in savings to cover the down payment, closing costs and cost of regular upkeep, yes, you probably could afford a $200K home on a $50K annual salary. Using our example above, the monthly mortgage payment on a $200K home, including taxes and insurance, would be about $1,300.
There isn't a set credit score that each person starts out with. Instead, if you don't have any credit history, you likely don't have a score at all.
Credit scores by race and ethnicity
Majority Black, Hispanic and Native American communities have at least 1.5 times the rates of subprime credit scores, debt in collections and high-cost non-bank borrowing (such as payday loans) compared to majority-white communities, according to data from the Urban Institute.
What is the average credit score? The average FICO credit score in the US is 718, according to the latest FICO data from April 2023. The average VantageScore is 701 as of December 2023. Credit scores, which are like a grade for your borrowing history, fall in the range of 300 to 850.
