Consumers obtain credit from individuals and companies that are willing to lend to them.
There is an expectation that between the borrower, the lender and the government that there will be terms, conditions and costs associated with an agreement concerning credit.
The Fair Isaac Corporation created the FICO score; a FICO score is a risk identification number assigned to those who seek credit. It provides companies that want that information with a risk probability assessment. The higher the number, the lower the risk. Scores range from a high of 850 (exceptional) to a low of 300 (very poor). FICO reports that the average credit score for Americans to be 700 and 57% of Americans have a 700 or higher. Overall, 80% have a credit score of 600 and higher.
| FICO Score Range | Percentage of U.S. Consumers | Percentage With Lower Scores |
| 800-850 | 20.7% | 79.3% |
| 750-799 | 19% | 60.3% |
| 700-749 | 17.1% | 43.2% |
| 650-699 | 13.2% | 30% |
| 600-649 | 10% | 20% |
| 550-599 | 8.5% | 11.5% |
| 500-549 | 6.8% | 4.7% |
| 300-499 | 4.7% | N/A |
What about those without a credit score? A 2015 CNBC Report found:
The research found that about 26 million American adults have no histories with national credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In addition to those so-called credit invisibles, an additional 19 million have credit reports that are so limited or out of date that they are unscorable. In other words, 45 million American consumers are living without credit scores.
Blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely to be without a credit score the study found, with a 15 percent rate of credit invisibility, compared to 9 percent for whites. Having a low income was another major predictor of whether someone had a credit score: census tract data showed that nearly 30 percent of consumers in low-income neighborhoods were credit invisible and another 15 percent had credit records that could not be scored. In upper-income neighborhoods, just 4 percent of consumers were credit invisible and an additional 5 percent were unscorable.