What It Takes to Earn an 800 Credit Score

From getting a mortgage or renting an apartment to taking out a loan, having a good credit score can make a huge difference in your everyday life. Having an exceptional or excellent credit score between 800 and 850 can offer even more opportunities — but boosting your score isn’t always as easy as it seems.

To offer insight into what it takes to get an exceptional score, our researchers analyzed the anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users with credit scores of at least 800. Here’s what habits they had in common.

Key findings

• 100% of our sample of LendingTree users with a credit score of 800 or higher pay their bills on time every month. Payment history makes up 35% of a credit score, making it the most important factor.
• Americans with 800-plus credit scores have an average of $150,270 in debt, including mortgages. That’s up 8.8% from May 2021. The average debt now is highest among millennials ($197,082) and lowest among Gen Zers ($51,693). Overall, these Americans with the highest credit scores are making average monthly payments of $1,556. Amounts owed account for 30% of consumers’ credit scores.
• The oldest active account for those with 800-plus scores averages nearly 22 years — a significant drop from 2021. That May, we found the average oldest active account to be more than 27 years. Millennials, despite being older than Gen Zers, now have the smallest average at less than 15 years. Length of credit history (15%) is the third most important factor in a credit score.
• Consumers with 800-plus credit scores have an average of 8.3 open accounts — similar to 7.9 in 2021. Gen Xers now have 8.6 open accounts, on average — the highest among any of the generations. While not as important as payment history or amounts owed, credit mix accounts for 10% of consumers’ credit scores.
• These Americans with high scores are limiting credit card inquiries. Americans with a credit score of at least 800 have seen an average of just 1.8 credit inquiries in the past two years. New credit accounts for 10% of your credit score, and new inquiries remain on your credit report for two years.

100% of sampled users with credit scores of 800+ pay their bills on time every month

One thing consumers with exceptional credit scores have in common? They pay their bills; their bills are paid (looking at you, Amy). And they pay their bills on time — 100% of our sample of LendingTree users with a credit score of 800 or higher consistently pay their bills on time every month.

Payment history makes up 35% of a credit score. Since payment history is the most important factor in a credit score, it’s not surprising that all high-score consumers pay their bills on time. In fact, 100% of consumers with exceptional credit scores paid their bills on time when we conducted this study in 2019 (and again in 2021).

How much debt do Americans with 800+ scores have?

Consumers with exceptional credit scores have an average of $150,270 in debt, including mortgages — up 8.8% from May 2021. Millennials ages 26 to 41 now have the highest debt, at $197,082 on average. Meanwhile, the youngest age group has the least debt. On average, Gen Zers ages 18 to 25 have $51,693 in debt.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz says inflation plays a role in rising debt. “Borrowing has gotten much more expensive in the past year, thanks to seven interest rate hikes from the Fed,” he says. “Combine that with inflation and it’s easy to see why some folks would be struggling with more debt today than last year.”

When it comes to credit card debt by generation, Gen Xers ages 42 to 57 have the highest average balances. According to a prior LendingTree study on credit card balances, Gen X cardholders have average credit card balances of $6,527. Meanwhile, Gen Zers again have the lowest, with average credit card balances of $1,857.

With such high amounts owed, these consumers are making hefty payments — and not just on their credit cards. Across various products, high-score consumers’ monthly payments come out to $1,556 on average. Although they’re not the group with the most debt (coming about $4,000 behind millennials), Gen Xers make the highest payments at an average of $1,985 each month. Meanwhile, Gen Zers pay the least, making average monthly payments of just $506.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

Amounts owed is the second most important factor in a credit score — it accounts for 30% of consumers’ credit scores. But your debt amount isn’t the most influential factor on this portion of your score. Maintaining a solid credit utilization ratio can be key. Be careful not to max out your cards, though, or else you’ll have too high a ratio (more on that below).

How much credit do high-score consumers have — and how much do they use?

Despite those high balances, it’s equally important to note that those with high credit scores also have high credit card limits. For those with 800-plus scores, their average credit card limits are $69,346. That’s up from the $58,514 average we found in May 2021. By generation, Gen X now has the highest average credit limit ($72,255), while Gen Z has the lowest average ($54,003).

The amount you owe compared with your available credit makes up your credit utilization ratio. The less you owe and the more credit you have, the lower the credit utilization ratio. Generally, you want your credit utilization ratio to be 30% or less. For those with credit scores of 800 or higher, their average utilization ratio is 6.1%.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

By generation, those with high credit scores generally have a much lower utilization ratio than their peers. For example, the utilization ratio among Gen Zers with credit scores of at least 800 is 3.1%. That compares to 32.5% across all Gen Z credit cardholders, according to our prior study. For other generations:

• Millennials with 800-plus scores have an average utilization ratio of 5.4%, while all millennial cardholders have an average utilization ratio of 24.4%.
• Gen Xers with 800-plus scores have an average utilization ratio of 6.6%, while all Gen X cardholders have an average utilization ratio of 21.7%.
• Baby boomers (ages 58 to 76) with 800-plus scores have an average utilization ratio of 6.3%, while all baby boomer cardholders have an average utilization ratio of 14.3%.
• The silent generation (ages 77 and older) with 800-plus scores have an average utilization ratio of 4.6%. (We didn’t include silent generations in our prior study to provide an overall comparison.)

Oldest active account is nearly 22 years on average

The oldest active account for those with 800-plus scores averages nearly 22 years. That’s a significant drop from 2021, when the oldest active account was more than 27 years on average.

By generation, millennials now have the smallest active account age, at less than 15 years for their oldest account. Meanwhile, the silent generation has the highest at 28.2 years. Baby boomers come next at 24.8 years.

Gen Zers fall toward the middle, with their oldest active account averaging almost 18 years. That may be hard to comprehend because Gen Zers are no older than 25, but it likely has to do with parents and guardians adding minors as authorized users on their cards to build their credit. Most card issuers generally allow consumers to add children who’re at least 13 years old to be an authorized user. But the oldest active account here wouldn’t reflect how long these Gen Zers have been an authorized user. If you made a Gen Zer an authorized user on a card that’s 20 years old, for example, that would count as 20 years of history.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

Length of credit history accounts for 15% of a credit score, making it the third most important factor. Having a longer credit history generally helps boost your score because it gives lenders a better look at your repayment patterns.

High credit score consumers with younger accounts have less credit on average

Having younger accounts has a noticeable impact on other credit factors. Notably, consumers with a credit score of 800 or higher and a credit history of less than 10 years have an average credit limit of $50,798 — lower than the credit limit for all consumers.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

Younger consumers also generally have short credit histories. The average age of the oldest active account for those 30 and younger is more than 13 years old, with eight open accounts. Their limits are similarly smaller, at an average of $54,657.

For those ages 35 and younger, the average age of their oldest active account and number of open accounts are the same as their slightly younger peers. However, they have a slightly higher credit card limit, with an average of $60,467 available to spend.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

Consumers with 800+ credit scores have an average of 8.3 open accounts

High credit score consumers have an average of 8.3 open accounts — similar to the 7.9 we found in 2021. By generation, Gen Xers now have the most active accounts, with an average of 8.6 open accounts. In comparison, the silent generation has the least active accounts at 7.1. They’re followed closely by Gen Zers, with an average of 7.2 open accounts.

Credit mix (such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards) accounts for 10% of consumers’ credit scores. Although it’s not as important as payment history, amount owed or credit age, having a good mix of credit helps lenders understand if you’re using your credit lines appropriately. For example, using a loan to make a large purchase may positively impact your credit score more than using a credit card.

High credit score consumers are limiting hard inquiries

It’s not just paying their bills on time or how they’re utilizing their accounts: Consumers with high credit scores are also limiting credit card inquiries. Americans with a credit score of at least 800 have seen an average of just 1.8 credit inquiries in the past two years, meaning they’re not applying for new loans or lines of credit on a frequent basis.

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

New credit accounts for 10% of your credit score, and new inquiries remain on your credit report for two years. Despite its low importance, Schulz says it still matters — particularly if you’re trying to achieve an excellent score.

“Applying for too much credit too often isn’t good for your credit,” he says. “Each of those inquiries bring with them a small, temporary ding to your credit, and too many of them can raise red flags in lenders’ eyes. It can make you appear desperate, and that’s not a good look when you’re trying to borrow.”

Full credit report profile of people with credit scores of 800 or higher

Source: Analysis of anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users

Achieving an excellent credit score: What experts recommend

Earning an 800-plus credit score isn’t easy. It can take a long time to build up your credit history, and a few mistakes can set back your score for a while. However, earning that excellent score isn’t impossible. To build your score quickly, Schulz recommends:

• Check your credit report to make sure that it doesn’t contain any mistakes that may be holding your credit back. “Having good credit is hard enough,” he says. “The last thing you need is for someone’s mistakes or even their fraudulent activity to bring your score down, and it happens more often than you might imagine.”
• Bump up your credit limit, and then don’t use it. “Credit utilization is really important to your credit score,” he says. “While the best way to improve it is to reduce your debt, you can change the other side of the equation, too, by increasing your available credit. Do that either by applying for a new card and using it only sporadically or asking your current credit card issuers to increase your card’s limits. Issuers are often willing to work with cardholders on these things, but you’ll have to ask.”
• Mix up your credit. “Your credit mix should involve more than just having multiple credit cards,” he says. “The ideal credit mix is a blend of installment loans, such as auto loans, student loans and mortgages, with revolving credit, such as bank credit cards and store credit cards. However, it’s very, very important to know that you shouldn’t take out a new loan just to help your credit mix. Debt is a really serious thing and should only be taken on as needed.”

Methodology

LendingTree researchers analyzed the anonymized credit reports of 100,000 LendingTree users with credit scores of at least 800, conducted in October 2022.

We defined generations as the following:

• Generation Z (born after 1996; ages 18 to 25 in 2022)
• Millennial (born between 1981 and 1996; ages 26 to 41 in 2022)
• Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980; ages 42 to 57 in 2022)
• Baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964; ages 58 to 76 in 2022)
• Silent generation (born in 1945 or earlier; ages 77 and older in 2022)