My FICO logo $$$$$$$$$$$ 9876 5432 1234 5678 CREDIT CARD KELLY SMITH 11/26 My FICO logo
SCORE
Skip Navigation
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Start Plan
 
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  •  
  • Education
    • Credit Education
    • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Scores Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
    • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
    • Blog
    • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
    • Know Your Rights
    • Identity Theft
    • FAQ
    • Glossary
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • How Can We Help
    • Monitor Credit & Identity
    • Mortgages
    • Credit Cards
    • Auto Loans
  • Credit Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • Credit Education
  • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Score Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
  • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
  • Know Your Rights
  • Identity Theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary
View all Credit News & Current Events articles

How Much Do People Know About Credit Scores?

Have you taken a financial literacy quiz? See how you compare to myFICO customers and the general population.

As part of Financial Literacy Month, myFICO recently conducted a survey to gain insights into consumer credit score knowledge. We asked survey participants to self-report their credit knowledge, and then asked them questions about credit score fundamentals.

The survey was provided to two population segments (both segments were 18 years of age or older):

  • a random set of ~1,000 current myFICO members, and
  • a random set of ~1,000 consumers.

Key Findings:

  1. myFICO members were more likely to be confident they have a higher level of credit score knowledge. 76% self-identified as very knowledgeable/knowledgeable about credit scores. This compared to only 59% of the general population who self-identified as very knowledgeable/knowledgeable.
  2. On average, the myFICO segment answered 80% of the credit score questions correctly, compared to 51% of the general population.
  3. While both segments demonstrated a level of credit score knowledge, the results also illuminated a need and opportunity to enhance credit score awareness and understanding for both groups.

Survey participants' self-reported credit scoring knowledge level (before taking the quiz):

myFICO Members

General Population

Very Knowledgeable 32% 20%
Knowledgeable 44% 39%
Somewhat Knowledgeable 22% 31%
Not Knowledgeable 2% 10%

Survey participants' credit score quiz results (figures represent the % of quiz questions answered correctly by consumers within each self-reported knowledge level)

myFICO Members

General Population

Very Knowledgeable 85% 53%
Knowledgeable 80% 52%
Somewhat Knowledgeable 75% 51%
Not Knowledgeable 57% 47%
Total 80% 51%

The myFICO members' segment appears to have a substantially higher credit score knowledge overall compared to the general population and a higher correlation between their self-awareness about credit score knowledge and their quiz results. Potentially concerning, 59% of the general population self-reported as Very Knowledgeable/Knowledgeable, yet only answered approximately 50% of questions correctly. These respondents may think they are making wise credit decisions when, in reality, they may be mistakenly making credit decisions negatively impacting their credit scores.

When evaluating the survey participants' responses across the credit score quiz questions, the following dynamics surfaced:

  • For each question, the myFICO members' group had a higher percentage of responders answering correctly compared to the general group.

  • Awareness was relatively high, with more than the majority of both survey groups selecting the correct answer to the following questions (indicated in bold):

    • You have an extra $500 this month that could be used to pay down some of your debt. Generally speaking, which strategy would likely maximize the impact on your credit scores?

      A. Apply the $500 against revolving debt (e.g., credit cards) first.

      B. Apply the $500 against installment debt (e.g., mortgage, auto loan) first.

      C. Apply the $500 against all your credit accounts equally.

    • Having no debt is the best strategy for having high credit scores.

      A. True

      B. False

    • A missed payment is immediately removed from your credit report when you have paid the balance in full.

      A. True

      B. False

  • On average, the general segment was more likely to incorrectly answer the following fundamental credit score questions:

    • What information in your credit report has the greatest impact on your credit score?

      A. If you've paid your bills on time?

      B. If you've been pursuing new credit?

      C. How much debt you have?

      D. How long have you've had credit?

    • What information is used to calculate your credit scores?

      A. Your income.

      B. Your address.

      C. Your gender.

      D. Your employment.

      E. None of these

    • You recently applied for a student loan. What type of inquiry was posted on your credit report?

      A. A "soft inquiry."

      B. No inquiry as student loans prohibit accessing the applicant's credit report.

      C. A "hard inquiry."

      D. None of the above.

  • Both segments struggled a bit on the following:

    • For optimal impact on a credit score, reported revolving balances should

      A. Be a very low percentage of your revolving credit limit, but not $0.

      B. Should be $0.

      C. Should be around 30% of your revolving credit limits.

      D. It doesn't matter as they have no impact on your credit score.

87% of the myFICO members' segment and 57% of the general population segment who answered incorrectly selected 30% revolving utilization as the answer, when the correct answer is A.

The confusion may be driven by the fact that the Amounts Owed category accounts for 30% of a FICO® Score. While revolving utilization is considered in the Amounts Owed category, so is other information such as balance related characteristics and installment loan balance & utilization assessment.

While credit score exposure has increased over time and many consumers have increased their credit score understanding, there are still many people who could benefit from incremental access to credit score education information. A wealth of free educational content can be found at www.myfico.com/credit-education. In addition, consumers can sign up for one of FICO's free Score A Better Future virtual educational seminars.

Tom Quinn

Tom Quinn is the Vice President of Business Development for myFICO and has over 25 years of experience working with consumers, regulators, and lenders regarding credit related questions and initiatives.

Estimate your FICO Score range

Answer 10 easy questions to get a free estimate of your FICO Score range

740 - 790
Estimate for Free

Instant Access to Your FICO® Score

90% of Top Lenders Use FICO® Scores. Do you know yours?

Get Access Now!

Page footer

Products

  • Home
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing

Learn

  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Blog

Company

  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Program
  • Accessibility

Get Our App

  • Download iOS app on the App Store
  • fil_get
    Get Android app on the Google Play Store

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Credit Education

  • Credit scores
  • What is a FICO Score?
  • FICO Score versions
  • How scores are calculated
  • Payment history
  • Amount of debt
  • Length of credit history
  • Credit mix
  • New credit
  • Credit reports
  • What's in your report
  • Bureaus
  • Inquiries
  • Errors on your report?
  • Calculators
  • Know your rights
  • Identity theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary

Copyright ©2001- Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, and may include additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Scores and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.

PRIVACY NOTICE: When you visit this website we collect your browsing activities on our site and use that information to analyze and research improvements to the website, and to our products and services. When you register for our products and services, we also collect certain personal information from you for identification purposes, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, IP address, and date of birth. Further information is available in our FICO Data Privacy Policy. For visitors with visual disabilities, access to this website, including our FICO Data Privacy Policy, is available through assistive technologies, such as BrowseAloud, JAWS, VoiceOver, Narrator, ChromeVox, and Window-Eyes. More details on software and accessibility are available at WebAIM.org.