What your credit score is made of

A short read

What a credit score is

A credit score is a three-digit number. It guesses how likely you are to pay back money you borrow. A lender looks at it first. Then they decide whether to lend to you, and at what rate.

lender

A bank, store, or company that lends you money. You pay it back later.

Sources

myFICO, What's in my FICO Scores — the 35/30/15/10/10 weights
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Credit reports and scores
FTC Consumer Advice, "You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports" (2023) — annualcreditreport.com
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Credit reports and scores
Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada — free consumer disclosure by online, phone or mail; 300–900 range

Read end to end and corrected: August 9, 2026. Numbers checked: August 9, 2026.