Credit score range
Definition and comparison of the range of various credit score models, including FICO
The FICO credit score range is 550:
850 - 300 = 550
(Its lowest and highest values are 300 and 850.)
| ||
|---|---|---|
| (unknown) (per HUD) | 360-840 |
|
| VantageScore | 501-990 |
|
| PLUS | 330-830 |
|
| FICO | 300-850 |
|
| TransRisk New Account | 300-850 |
|
| TransUnion | 150-934 |
|
Experian used to have a credit score with a range that made sense— 1000— but changed it, ill-advisedly.
Definition of Range
- Math.com
- "In statistics, the difference between the largest and the smallest numbers in a data set."
- Dictionary.com
- Statistics. the difference between the largest and smallest values in a statistical distribution."
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- "The range, the difference between the largest value and the smallest value, is the simplest measure of variability in the data." (categorizes the term "range" as a numerical measure of descriptive statistics)
For confusion, see: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Range.html
And, count on Wikipedia to provide an inaccurate definition of range with an entire section of its Credit score (United States) article called Range of scores. It never mentions a score range, and even conflicts with its own definition in Range (statistics).
Other scoring systems' ranges
50 (50 to 100) is the range of the Wine Advocate Rating System devised by Robert Parker. You get 50 for just showing up. That could be the idea behind most of the credit scoring systems: To avoid having people jump off ledges due to a score of 27 out of 1000, or obsessing over getting a perfect 1,000 (VantageScore curiously stops at 990).
Some scoring systems' ranges
- Wine Advocate: 50 (50-100)
- Batting average: 1 (0-1)
- SAT: 600 (200-800)
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale (an IQ (intelligence quotient))(practical range): 120 (40-160)
- Mobil Travel Guide: 4 (1-5 stars)