What Is a Bad Credit Score? Ranges, Costs, and the Way Back

Ask five lenders what a bad credit score is and you’ll get at least three different numbers. FICO draws the line below 580. VantageScore draws it at 600. Credit Karma calls anything at or below 600 bad, yet a mortgage lender can still approve you at 580 if your down payment is big enough. Neither scoring company even uses the word bad. Each sorts low scores into labels like poor and very poor, and lenders supply the rest of the meaning through their own rate sheets.

The working answer: on the FICO scale, a score from 300 to 579 is poor, and that’s what most people mean by a bad credit score. At that level approvals get harder, rates climb, and some doors stay closed until the number moves. Credit.org has helped people sort out credit and debt since 1974, and the point we’d make first is this. A low score is a snapshot of your credit report taken on one day, and snapshots change. Some of the inputs respond quickly, too. Credit utilization has no memory, so a lower balance helps your score as soon as your card issuer reports it.

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Bad Credit Score Ranges: FICO vs. VantageScore

FICO sorts scores into five bands: poor at 300 to 579, fair at 580 to 669, good at 670 to 739, very good at 740 to 799, and 800 and above at the top, according to myFICO. VantageScore also runs from 300 to 850 but cuts the bands in different places: very poor at 300 to 499, poor at 500 to 600, fair at 601 to 660, good at 661 to 780, and excellent at 781 and up, per Capital One’s summary of the model. A 590 is fair under FICO and poor under VantageScore, so the same person can hear two different verdicts on the same day. Good credit begins at 670 on one scale and 661 on the other.

Credit scoring models add another wrinkle. The CFPB points out that you don’t have just one credit score. Each depends on the data used, the model, the credit bureau supplying the report, and even the day it was run. Auto lenders often pull a FICO Auto Score on a 250 to 900 scale, so the number on a dealer’s screen can differ from the one in your banking app. Lenders often label scores in the bad range subprime, which is the word you’ll see on loan offers.

FICO says 90% of top lenders use FICO scores. If you’re preparing to apply for credit, a FICO score is the best single number to track.

How a Bad Credit Score Compares With the National Average

The average FICO score in the U.S. is 714, down two points from a year earlier, according to FICO’s spring 2026 report. The average VantageScore is 701. FICO attributes the dip mainly to resumed reporting of student loan delinquencies and a modest rise in mortgage delinquencies. The average fell even as a record 48.1% of consumers reached 750 or higher, which means the low end is pulling the number down while the top end pulls away. If your score is poor, you’re competing in a market where nearly half of borrowers sit at 750 or above.

One more finding from that report: two-thirds of consumers either believe income directly affects credit scores or aren’t sure. It doesn’t. Your salary isn’t in your credit report, so it isn’t in your score. Someone earning $150,000 can have poor credit, and someone earning $30,000 can have excellent credit. Lenders weigh income separately when they decide whether to approve you.

What Pushes a Credit Score Into the Bad Range

FICO builds a score from five categories of data in your credit report: payment history at 35%, amounts owed at 30%, length of credit history at 15%, new credit at 10%, and credit mix at 10%, according to myFICO. Payment history and amounts owed together make up 65% of the calculation, so that’s where most bad scores come from.

Payment history counts most because it’s the strongest predictor of whether you’ll repay. FICO says a few late payments don’t automatically wreck a score, and one slip on a long, clean record is survivable. On a short or already damaged record, a 30-day late payment, a collection account, or a charge-off hits harder because there’s less good history to offset it.

Amounts owed is mostly your credit utilization ratio, the share of your available credit you’re using. Add up your credit card balances, divide by your total limits, and that’s the ratio. A $2,700 balance on a $3,000 limit reports as 90%, even if you pay every dollar by the due date, because issuers usually report the balance as of your statement closing date. That’s how someone who pays in full each month can still show high utilization.

Length of history, new credit, and credit mix make up the remaining 35%. Opening several new credit accounts in a short stretch looks like added risk to FICO, especially on a short history. A low score doesn’t always point to bad behavior, either. FICO needs at least six months of credit history to produce a score, VantageScore needs one month, and a thin file can score low without a single missed payment.

Then there are the events that do their own damage. The CFPB lists a debt sent to collections, a foreclosure, or a bankruptcy, and how long ago it happened, among the factors scoring models weigh.

What a Bad Credit Score Costs

Auto loans show the gap most clearly. Experian’s first-quarter 2026 auto finance data put the average new-car APR at 4.55% for superprime borrowers, 13.44% for subprime borrowers (scores of 501 to 600), and 16.01% for deep subprime (300 to 500). Used cars cost more at every tier, with subprime borrowers averaging 19.42%. On a $25,000 new-car loan over 60 months, our math using those averages works out to about $467 a month and $2,999 in interest at 4.55%, $574 and $9,468 at 13.44%, and $608 and $11,485 at 16.01%. Same car, roughly $6,470 more in interest for the subprime borrower than the superprime one.

Mortgage rules draw their own lines. FHA-insured loans require a 580 score for the 3.5% minimum down payment, and scores from 500 to 579 can still qualify with 10% down, as PenFed’s FHA guide lays out. On a $250,000 home, that’s $8,750 versus $25,000. Many FHA lenders add their own minimum, often 620, and conventional loans usually ask for 620 too.

Credit cards are where poor credit shows up fastest. Rates on card accounts that carry a balance average near 22%, per the Federal Reserve’s G.19 consumer credit data, and poor credit usually prices at or above that, if you’re approved at all. Beyond lending, the CFPB notes that companies also use credit scores for tenant screening and insurance, so a low score can follow you into a rental application.

How Long a Bad Credit Score Lasts

Negative items age out on a schedule set by federal law. Late payments, charge-offs, and foreclosures stay on your credit report for seven years, counted from the first missed payment. A collection can run seven years plus 180 days. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays seven years from filing and a Chapter 7 stays ten, per Nolo’s summary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Hard inquiries can remain on your report for two years, though FICO only counts the ones from the last 12 months.

Older marks also count for less. A 60-day late payment from five years ago does less damage than a 30-day late payment from last year. Past that, nobody can promise you a number. FICO states that you can’t measure a single factor’s exact impact without looking at the entire report, so any company quoting a guaranteed point gain in 30 days is guessing or selling something.

How to Move a Bad Credit Score

Start with the report. You can pull free reports from all three credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com, and errors are worth hunting first, because fixing a confirmed error can lift a score without changing anything you do. Under the CFPB’s dispute process, you dispute with the credit bureau and with the company that supplied the information, and that company generally has 30 days to investigate and respond. Keep copies of everything you send. Credit.org’s credit report review walks through a report line by line with a counselor.

Next, protect your payment history. Get every account current, then set up autopay for at least the minimum so one forgotten due date doesn’t add a new mark. Each new late payment is a fresh item with its own seven-year clock.

Then lower your credit utilization ratio. The usual advice is to stay under 30%, and scores tend to do best under 10%. Timing matters as much as the amount. With a $3,000 limit and a $900 balance, you’re at 30%. Pay $600 before the statement closes and the reported credit card balance drops to $300, which is 10%. You can still pay the rest by the due date.

If you have no open card, or your cards are maxed out or closed, a secured credit card can rebuild payment history. You put down a refundable deposit, usually equal to your credit limit. Confirm that the issuer reports to all three credit bureaus before you apply, because a card that doesn’t report can’t help your score. Prepaid and debit cards don’t report either. On a $200 limit, keep the balance under $60 at the most and closer to $20 if you can. Apply for one card, not four, since a cluster of applications works against a thin file.

Be wary of credit repair companies that promise to delete accurate negative items. A dispute can remove errors and information the furnisher can’t verify, but accurate history stays until it ages out.

When debt is what’s holding the score down, a plan works better than a tactic. Credit.org’s debt management program rolls unsecured debt into one monthly payment and negotiates lower interest rates with your creditors. Enrolling doesn’t require a strong score, unlike a consolidation loan. The tradeoff is that cards enrolled in a plan are usually closed, which can dip your score for a while before it recovers as balances fall. For someone with high balances and poor credit, that’s often a trade worth making, because on-time payments and falling balances are what the scoring models reward. A counselor can tell you whether it fits your numbers.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 600 a bad credit score?

It depends on the model. A 600 is fair on the FICO scale (580 to 669) and sits at the top of poor on VantageScore (500 to 600). Credit Karma counts 600 or lower as bad, and some lenders will price a 600 as subprime. Treat it as borderline: you can get approved for some products, just not at the best rates.

What is the lowest possible credit score?

300, on both the FICO and VantageScore scales. The highest is 850.

Does checking my own credit score lower it?

No. Checking your own score or report is a soft inquiry and doesn’t affect your credit. Hard inquiries happen when you apply for new credit, and they can lower your score by a few points.

How long does it take to fix a bad credit score?

Credit.org’s guidance puts noticeable improvement at 6 to 12 months of on-time payments and lower balances. A recent bankruptcy, a pile of collections, or a heavy debt load can stretch that. Utilization responds fastest, since a lower balance helps as soon as it’s reported. Late payments respond slowest, because they fade only as they age.

Can I still get a loan with a bad credit score?

Often yes, at a price. FHA loans accept scores down to 500 with 10% down, and auto lenders write subprime loans at the rates above. Compare offers before you sign. If you rate shop for one type of loan inside a short window, up to 45 days for FICO, the inquiries count as one.

What’s the difference between bad credit, poor credit, and a low credit score?

People use all three for the same thing. Poor is FICO’s official label for 300 to 579, a low credit score is the plain description of the number, and bad credit usually refers to the negative items behind it, like late payments or collections. Neither FICO nor VantageScore uses the word bad itself.

Can a nonprofit credit counselor raise my credit score?

No counselor can promise points, and you should walk away from anyone who does. What a counselor can do is read your credit report, spot the errors and the factors holding your score down, and build a payment plan around your income. Credit.org is a HUD-approved nonprofit and a founding member of the NFCC, and your first session is free and confidential.

Talk to a Counselor Before Your Next Application

Every application adds a hard inquiry whether or not you’re approved, and on a poor score you don’t have many to spare. Pull your three credit reports this week, mark the biggest drag between late payments and high balances, and bring the list to a counselor before you apply for anything. Credit.org doesn’t lend money or sell products, so the plan we build around your numbers is the only thing on the table.

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Talk to a counselor this week.

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Related reading: Debt Management Program | Consumer Credit Counseling | 5 Life Hacks About Credit I Wish I Knew In My 20s