Economics Unit 5, Lesson 2
How to Improve Your Credit
Score
FICO
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FICO Score
FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different
credit data in your credit report. This data can be
grouped into five categories as outlined below. The
percentages in the chart reflect how important each of
the categories is in determining your FICO score.
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Payment History
• Account payment information on credit cards,
retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, etc.
• Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy,
judgments, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc.)
• Delinquency (past due items)
• Severity of delinquency (how long past due)
• Number of past due items on file
• Number of accounts paid as agreed
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Amounts Owed
• Amount owing on accounts
• Number of accounts with balances
• Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of
balances to total credit limits on certain types of
revolving accounts)
• Proportion of installment loan amounts still
owing (proportion of balance to original loan
amount on certain types of installment loans)
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Length of Credit History
• Length of time accounts have been
opened
• Length of time since any activity on
accounts
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New Credit
• Number of accounts recently opened
• Number of recent credit inquiries for new
accounts
• Time since last credit inquiry
• Re-establishment of a positive credit
history following past payment problems
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Types of Credit Used
• Number of different types of accounts
such as credit cards, retail accounts,
installment loans, and mortgage
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