What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House?
Credit score is one of two numbers — the other being debt-to-income ratio — that does more to determine what you qualify for than almost anything else in the mortgage process. But "what score do I need" doesn't have one answer, because it depends entirely on which loan program you're using.
Minimum scores by loan type
These are the baseline numbers set by each program, though individual lenders often layer their own stricter requirements ("overlays") on top:
- FHA loans: 580 for the standard 3.5% down payment option; 500-579 is technically allowed with a 10% down payment, though very few lenders actually offer this in practice.
- Conventional loans: 620 is the typical floor most lenders use, though some specialized programs go as low as 580.
- VA loans: The VA itself sets no official minimum credit score. In practice, individual lenders commonly require 580-620 as their own internal standard.
- USDA loans: Usually 640, tied to the automated underwriting system these loans typically require.
- Jumbo loans: Often 700 and up, sometimes 720+, since these loans exceed conforming loan limits and carry more risk for the lender.
Why your score moves your rate, not just your approval
Meeting the minimum gets you in the door, but conventional lenders use something called loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) — essentially a sliding scale where each credit score tier above the minimum unlocks a measurably better rate. The gap between a low-600s score and a mid-700s+ score can easily be a full percentage point or more on your rate, which compounds into tens of thousands of dollars over a 30-year term. This is why "I qualify" and "I'm getting a good rate" are two different conversations.
What actually makes up your score
The most commonly used scoring models weigh a handful of factors, roughly in this order of importance:
- Payment history (~35%) — whether you've paid on time, and how recently/severely you haven't
- Credit utilization (~30%) — how much of your available revolving credit (mainly credit cards) you're using
- Length of credit history (~15%) — how long your accounts have been open
- Credit mix (~10%) — having a mix of installment loans (auto, student) and revolving credit (cards)
- New credit inquiries (~10%) — how many new accounts or hard inquiries you've had recently
The fastest realistic ways to raise your score before applying
If you're a few months out from applying, a few things move the needle faster than others:
- Pay down credit card balances — utilization is one of the fastest-reacting factors; dropping a card from 80% utilized to under 30% can show up within a billing cycle or two.
- Dispute genuine errors — incorrect late payments or accounts that aren't yours can be dragging your score down for no real reason; all three bureaus offer free dispute processes.
- Avoid opening new credit right before applying — new inquiries and new accounts both temporarily ding your score and shorten your average account age.
- Don't close old cards — closing a long-held card can shorten your credit history and reduce your available credit, both of which can hurt your score even though it feels like "cleaning up."
Your score is only half the picture
Credit score and DTI ratio work together — a strong score with a high DTI, or a mediocre score with a very low DTI, can both still get approved, just on different terms. Lenders look at the full picture, and so should you before assuming a single number tells the whole story.
What the score ranges actually mean to a lender
Scores are typically grouped into tiers, and where you land shifts both your approval odds and your pricing:
- Below 580: very limited options, generally restricted to FHA with a larger down payment, and often with additional lender overlays making approval harder in practice.
- 580-619: FHA becomes fully accessible at 3.5% down; conventional loans are usually still out of reach at most lenders.
- 620-679: conventional loans open up, but typically at the higher end of that program's rate and PMI pricing.
- 680-739: a meaningfully better pricing tier on conventional loans — this range is often where the rate curve starts flattening out.
- 740 and above: the best available conventional pricing tier; jumbo loans become realistically accessible here too.
The jump from one tier to the next can matter more than the raw number suggests — moving from 679 to 681, for instance, can cross a pricing threshold even though the score barely changed.
A concrete example of what this costs over time
On a $350,000 loan, the difference between a low-600s pricing tier and a 740+ tier can easily be half a percentage point to a full point on your rate. At today's typical terms, even a 0.5% rate difference on that loan amount adds up to well over $30,000 in additional interest paid over a 30-year term — which is why lenders and financial advisors alike treat "improve your score before applying" as genuinely high-value advice, not just generic caution.
If your score is borderline right now
A few realistic options if you're close to a threshold but not quite there:
- Wait 30-60 days after paying down revolving balances — utilization changes often reflect in your score within one to two billing cycles.
- Ask about a rapid rescore — some lenders can request an expedited recalculation from the bureaus once you've paid down a specific balance, faster than waiting for a normal reporting cycle.
- Consider a co-borrower with stronger credit — lenders typically use the lower of the two scores for pricing purposes on a joint application, so this only helps if the other applicant's score is meaningfully higher.
How we verify this: figures on this page are computed from standard published formulas and checked against our own calculators. Assumptions are stated inline. Found an error? Let us know — see our editorial approach.