About one-fifth of people have an "Exceptional" score of 800-850. Find out how many reach that perfect score.

Answer: 1.54%

Questions:

• What factors go into calculating your credit score?
• What are the benefits of a high credit score, even if it’s not a perfect 850?
• What other characteristics (like age or debt balance) might be shared by people with a perfect credit score? Explain your reasoning.

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Experian):

"Consumers with perfect scores tend to have lower debt balances than the national average for all types of revolving credit, as well as overall non-mortgage debt levels. As for auto loans, lower balances for those with an 850 FICO® Score may indicate that these consumers, when they do finance their vehicles, are able to do so with better financing terms than those with average credit scores."

"A few traits of perfect-credit consumers:

• Lower debt balances nearly across the board: Balances are similar among all borrowers with mortgages—more people with 850 scores have mortgages than those who don't, and those who do are likely able to purchase "more" house due to their superior credit history.
• Credit utilization that's near zero: On average, consumers with perfect scores tend to carry more credit cards (both retail and otherwise), but their credit utilization rate is much lower. Credit utilization is one of the most important factors in credit score calculations, and those with the highest scores tend to keep it in the low single-digit percentages.
• Delinquencies are not a concern: With an average number of delinquencies sitting at zero, perfect-score consumers are paying their bills on time."

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.