The highest credit score possible is 850. That’s the maximum credit score used by all the major credit-scoring models today. Less than 2% of people have that highest possible credit score, according to score providers.
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Even if your credit score is not quite 850, you can still claim to have perfect credit. Anyone with a credit score of 800+ (about 23% of us) has essentially perfect credit for the simple reason that lenders don’t price products for the top 2% of people. In other words, before you reach the absolute highest credit score possible, you’ll arrive at a point where improving your score further will stop saving you money.
How Close People Are to the Highest Credit Score
A large percentage of Americans are within striking distance of perfect credit, if not the maximum score, as you can see in the following table.
| Score Range | % of Adults |
| 800-850 | 23.0% |
| 740-799 | 27.5% |
| 670-739 | 20.4% |
| 580-669 | 14.9% |
| 300-579 | 14.2% |
Source: Experian (FICO® Score 8)
Below, we’ll take a closer look at what it takes to build perfect credit and pick the brains of financial experts to see how realistic it is to reach an 850 credit score. If you’d like to see how far you are from credit perfection at the moment, you can check your latest credit score for free here on WalletHub. We update your score every day, so you’ll always know where you stand.
Who Has the Highest Credit Score?
Credit scores convey a lot of information, and you can learn a great deal about the nature of credit-score perfection as well as how to achieve it by analyzing the profiles of people with an 850 rating. So, let’s take a quick look at some of their common traits.
Bear in mind that the credit performance highlighted above is by no means universally representative. It’s certainly possible to achieve perfect credit with a different background. And it’s entirely possible that you won’t reach such heights even with this sort of exemplary record.
Where People With the Highest Credit Score Live
These states have the highest percentage of residents with an 850 credit score.
| State | Percentage of People With an 850 Score |
| Minnesota | 2.67% |
| Hawaii | 2.62% |
| Virginia | 2.40% |
| Maryland | 2.36% |
| Wisconsin | 2.35% |
| Massachusetts | 2.34% |
| Delaware | 2.30% |
| Colorado | 2.27% |
| Washington | 2.26% |
| New Jersey | 2.22% |
Source: Experian
To learn more, check out WalletHub’s guide on the states with the highest and lowest credit scores.
How to Reach the Highest Credit Score
There is no secret recipe for building an 850 credit score. But there is indeed a playbook for putting yourself in the best position to achieve the highest possible credit score. It all begins with a credit card, as you’ll learn from the following tips.
Maximize Your Available Credit
Credit cards are the best credit-building tool available because most people can get approved for one. They all report information to the major credit bureaus on a monthly basis, and they don’t have to cost you a thing. Responsible credit card use, such as paying your credit card on time and not maxing out your credit limit, can help you maximize your credit.
Never Miss a Payment
If there’s one thing you can control when it comes to credit building, it’s payment history. Payment history accounts for at least 35% of most credit scores. You can avoid forgetting to pay your bill by setting up automatic monthly payments from a bank account. You just need to make sure there’s enough cash available in the account every month to cover the payments.
Keep Your Credit Utilization Ratio Low
Your credit utilization ratio is the amount of credit you are using versus your overall credit limit. You should aim to keep your credit utilization below 30% – or even below 10% if you’re really aiming for perfection. The key is to bring your credit card balances down to these levels by the end of each billing cycle, since that’s when credit utilization is calculated.
Become an Authorized User
Consider becoming an authorized user on a family member’s credit card account. This can give you one more account adding positive information to your credit reports each month.
Build an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is money you have set aside to cover unexpected expenses like a big medical bill or a higher-than-usual utility bill. With a solid stash of cash backing you up, you will be less susceptible to missing bill payments, which can damage your credit score.
Monitor Your Credit
Regularly reviewing your credit score and credit report allows you to catch errors and fraudulent accounts quickly, limiting the potential damage they can cause. You can sign up for a service like WalletHub that offers free 24/7 credit monitoring.
Don’t Rush Things
Credit-scoring models compare the types of accounts on your credit reports to those of people your age or folks with a similar financial profile. This reflects how well-rounded of a borrower you are and the extent to which your financial responsibility has been tested. But while demonstrating financial versatility is necessary to achieving a perfect credit score, rushing things is a recipe for disaster. So wait to get a car loan, mortgage, etc., until you’re truly ready.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Even if you never reach 850, “merely” having excellent credit is an amazing achievement. It will save you boatloads of money over the course of your life. And it won’t ever stand in your way like a “bad” score. Plus, you may find consolation in the fact that having excellent credit means your score is higher than roughly 50% of people.
For more tips and info, check out WalletHub’s guide to building credit.
Ask the Experts: Aiming for 850
For some outside perspectives on just how realistic reaching the top of the credit-score scale is and how fruitful of an accomplishment that would be, we posed the following questions to a panel of personal finance experts. Meet them and see what they had to say, below.
- Is there any point in trying to reach an 850 credit score? Would reaching the highest possible credit score save someone with excellent credit any money?
- What percentage of people would you say have an 850 credit score?
- What is the best piece of advice you have for someone shooting for an 850 credit score?
Ask the Experts
Resident in Financial Planning at Texas A&M University
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Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Accounting & Finance at St. John’s University
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Professor of Marketing at Providence College School of Business
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Lecturer of Finance in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Associate Professor of Finance in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg
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Chair and Professor of Finance, Real Estate and Business Law at The University of Southern Mississippi
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WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.