The commons credit score range that the credit bureaus use and that most of the large financial institutions accept is between 300 and 850. Also, the organization that is considered to be the leader in accurate credit scoring, FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) also uses the same range.

These two numbers can literally change your life and can impact every aspect of your living style. If you have an 850, you can pretty much do anything - buy a house, get a nice car, have credit cards and get approved for any loan you want. But, if you have a 300, good luck getting approved for anything, even a credit card will be near impossible.

Wait, what, just because I have bad credit, I can't even get a credit card?

Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a bit? Actually, people with bad credit CAN some times get approved for a loan or for a credit card, typically it will just be at a very high interest rate. And, vice versa, people with very high credit have also been known to no get approved. However, your odds are MUCH more in your favor with good credit than with bad credit, try your best to always stay closer to 850.

Most financial institutions really have nothing else to use as an indicator other than your credit score in the range.

What is considered a good credit score?

A good credit score is typically a credit score in the range of 700 or higher. Actually, 700 or higher is typically considered to be excellent credit. This basically gives you a very high probability of getting approved for your desired loan or credit card.

For more a more detailed look at the way some financial institutions look at credit scores:

720 and above - Excellent

680 to 699 - Good

620 - 679 - Average

* Most people in the United States are in the range of 620 to 679. Anything below 620 and we start to get into the low credit score range.

What is considered to be a low credit score?

A credit score between 580 and 619 is not looked upon well and considered to be low. But, again, it does not mean that you will not get approved for a loan - you will likely just pay a much higher interest rate.

What is considered to be a bad credit score?

Anything below 580 and you really need to work on your credit because even getting approved for something will be difficult, if not impossible. Typically credit scores this low are a result of a recent bankruptcy.