610 credit score: A guide to credit scores
Quick insights
- A 610 credit score is considered to be “fair” by both the VantageScore® and FICO® scoring models.
- You have room to improve a 610 credit score by implementing some healthy financial habits, such as lowering your credit utilization ratio.
- To help improve your overall financial wellness, it may be useful to fully understand your credit score.
Your credit score is a three-digit number that screenshots your creditworthiness at a given point in time. Your score can rise and fall depending on the choices you make; understanding your score may provide you with insights into what you can do to accomplish your credit goals. With that in mind, let’s dig into the 610 credit score, what it means and how to help improve it.
Understanding a 610 credit score
To help understand a 610 credit score, let’s break down the credit score ranges for the two main credit scoring models below.
As of May 2024, VantageScore® ranges are:
- Excellent: 781 to 850
- Good: 661 to 780
- Fair: 601 to 660
- Poor: 500 to 600
- Very Poor: 300 to 499
As of May 2024, FICO® score ranges are:
- Exceptional: 800+
- Very Good: 740 to 799
- Good: 670 to 739
- Fair: 580 to 669
- Poor: 579 and below
As you may have noticed above, a 610 credit score is considered to be fair by both the VantageScore and FICO scoring models. While it is not “poor,” a credit score in this range could inhibit you from some financial options and potentially result in higher annual percentage rates (APRs) on credit cards and loans.
At the same time, a fair credit score does not necessarily mean you are bad at credit. It could mean you are new to credit and likely should adopt some healthy habits to help build up your creditworthiness. You may still be able to get approved for loans and credit cards with this score, but it may look a little different for lenders than if you had a “good” or “excellent” credit score.
Buying a home with a 610 credit score
Are you looking to apply for a mortgage but don’t know if your credit score will help or hurt you? Buying a home with a 610 credit score may be possible, but it might be more challenging than if you had a good or an excellent credit score. Some lenders may require a larger down payment, charge higher interest rates or have stricter loan terms.
As part of your homebuying process, carefully review and compare different lenders and loan options to find the best fit for your specific circumstances. While important, credit scores are just one of several factors lenders use when approving home loans.
Getting approved for credit with a 610 credit score
In addition to mortgages, you may be approved for other lines of credit, such as credit cards or personal loans. There may be options available for those with a fair credit score, but note that they could come with higher interest rates.
Even though you may not be able to get a premium credit card with perks and rewards, you can use the options available to you to build up your credit over time. As you improve your credit score, you may find that there are more opportunities and better terms available to you. Let’s go into more detail about how you can improve your score below.
Ways to help raise a 610 credit score
Raising a credit score from fair to good and higher is an admirable goal and can be done with patience, diligence and consistency and most importantly, healthy financial habits. Some ways to help raise your credit score include, but are not limited to:
- Lower your credit utilization ratio. This ratio is the amount of credit you use against your total available credit (think: credit card limits, loan amounts, etc.) Lowering this ratio is an important step towards potentially increasing your credit score. Start by making a goal of 30% utilization and less.
- Avoid applying for too many lines of credit at once. Every time you apply for a credit card or loan, your lender will run a hard credit check. This can temporarily hurt your credit score.
- Make your payments on time. Just one late or missed payment can have a significant negative impact on your credit score. Build up a healthy habit of making on-time monthly payments in full—credit card balances, monthly installments, etc.
- Consider enrolling in Chase Credit Journey®. This is a free online tool anyone can use to check their credit score for free. You may also want to use the credit score improvement feature, which allows you to set score goals and receive a personalized action plan, provided by Experian™, tailored to your credit behavior.
Whether you’re new to credit or have made choices that resulted in a low credit score, you can take steps to empower yourself with knowledge and tools to improve your score.
Additional tips for managing credit wisely
Credit scores are important, but they are just one aspect of your financial wellness, and are just one of several factors lenders consider when determining loan and credit card eligibility. To help you manage your credit and improve overall financial wellness, consider the following tips:
- Create a realistic budget. This can help with lowering credit card balances and preparing for necessary payments.
- Prioritize paying off outstanding debts. You can do this by prioritizing small debts (snowball method) or debts with high interest rates (avalanche method).
- Build up an emergency savings fund. Just a little bit of your paycheck each week can make a positive impact over a long period of time. Having a back-up of savings can be helpful for when life throws you unexpected obstacles.
- Monitor your credit report. Look for and report any inaccuracies to the credit bureau(s) to help maintain an accurate representation of your credit behavior.
Bottom line
Your credit score is a number that fluctuates, so you may find you fall into different credit ranges at different points of your life. A 610 credit score has the potential to grow and grant you a future where more financial options are available to you. Implementing the steps and tips above and building up your knowledge about credit could help to improve your credit score over time.
