Guides · Money foundations
What a Credit Score Actually Measures
A credit score isn't a measure of wealth, income, or virtue. It's a prediction of one narrow thing: how likely you are to fall 90+ days behind on a payment in the next two years.
It predicts one specific thing
A credit score is not a measure of wealth, income, responsibility, or character. It's a statistical prediction of a single narrow event: how likely you are to fall 90 or more days behind on a payment in the next two years.
FICO scores run from 300 to 850, and the weights are published. Payment history is 35%, amounts owed — your utilization — is 30%, length of credit history is 15%, and new credit and credit mix are 10% each.
So two factors drive nearly two-thirds of the number. Pay on time, and don't use too much of your available credit. Almost everything else is noise by comparison.
What isn't in there at all
Your income is not in your FICO score. Neither is your bank balance, your savings, your employment history, your education, or your net worth.
This surprises people in both directions. A high earner with a missed payment can score below someone earning far less who has never been late. Lenders do look at income — they just get it from your application, not from the score.
Knowing what's excluded is what makes the score actionable. You can't raise it by getting a raise; you raise it by changing the handful of things it actually measures.
Never miss a payment, and pay balances down. That's 65% of the model.
FICO runs 300-850. Payment history is 35% and amounts owed is 30%, so two factors drive nearly two-thirds of your score.