Median Fico Score vs. Average Fico Score
The median Fico score in the US has is 723, and has remained the same for many years in a row. A median credit score is a much better indicator than an average credit score.Average by itself can be misleading, because it doesn’t tell a thing on the distribution of the numbers (Fico scores in this case) in a given set.
Here is an example that demonstrates the problem with average and shows why median is a much better reference point:
Consider this list of 1,200 Fico scores:
| Number Of People | Fico Score |
| 30 | 800 |
| 60 | 780 |
| 110 | 760 |
| 150 | 740 |
| 250 | 730 |
| 120 | 720 |
| 80 | 700 |
| 80 | 680 |
| 70 | 650 |
| 60 | 600 |
| 50 | 550 |
| 40 | 500 |
| 40 | 450 |
| 30 | 400 |
| 30 | 350 |
The median Fico score of this set is 725. Exactly 600 people have a higher Fico score, while 600 people have a lower Fico score.
However, the average Fico score of the set is 45 points lower – 678.
What’s the difference?
Say your Fico score is 675. You may be quite happy with it, mistakenly thinking that you’re doing o.k. because you’re above average. Right?
Wrong!
In fact, you’re doing very badly because more than 70% of the population has a higher Fico score than you. As a result you can expect to get the worst terms, if you’re lucky enough to qualify.