What is not included in your FICO® score?
Quick insights
- Your credit score primarily reflects how you've managed borrowed money in the past.
- Personal details like your age, salary and employment history don't affect your credit score.
- Soft credit checks for preapproved offers or personal monitoring won’t affect your credit score. They may appear on your credit report when you view it but typically aren’t shown to lenders.
Building your credit profile often begins with learning how your credit score works. While many people focus on the habits that impact their score, knowing what's excluded from credit score calculations may be just as helpful.
In fact, many common financial details like your income or monthly rent are usually not included in your FICO score. Let’s look at what typically stays off your report and why.
Common factors excluded from credit score models
Lenders may use your credit score to help predict how you manage debt and your likelihood of paying back a loan. This numerical value is just one piece of information used to evaluate your credit habits, focusing mainly on your history with credit cards and monthly loan payments.
A common misconception is that your salary determines your score. However, FICO scores don't include your income or how much money you have in your bank account.
Other personal details are also intentionally left out to ensure fairness. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)Opens overlay, which is a federal law that protects consumers from discrimination, prohibits credit scoring models from considering your race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status. Your age also isn't a factor in the FICO calculation, though the age of your credit accounts could matter.
How employment and personal info affect your report
While your credit report may list your current or past employers for identity verification, your employment history doesn't influence your credit score. Where you live is also excluded from the calculation.
Personal details that don't impact FICO
- Employment history: Your job title and length of employment aren't used to calculate your score.
- Salary and raises: Your annual income isn't reported to credit bureaus and doesn't influence your score.
- Public assistance: Receiving public assistance or unemployment benefits isn't a factor in credit scoring. These details are protected and don't influence your creditworthiness.
Daily expenses that usually stay off your report
Most monthly bills aren't included in a FICO score because they're considered payments for services rather than borrowed money. However, if these payments become severely past due and are sent to a collection agency, this will be reported to the bureaus and become a mark that affects your score.
- Rent payments: Most landlords don't report payments to credit bureaus. Unless you use a specific reporting service, your rent history won't affect your FICO score.
- Utility bills: Payments for electricity, water and gas aren't part of your credit history. These accounts usually only appear on your report if they enter collections.
- Subscriptions: Payments for streaming services or gym memberships are excluded from your score. Even if you pay them on time every month, they usually won't affect your score.
- Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Many short-term installment plans for retail purchases aren't reported to FICO, but this could change. The terms of the agreement will include how the BNPL plan is reported.
How to monitor your score
Monitoring your credit report may help you stay on top of your credit profile and may also help you spot potential errors that might be lowering your score.
Chase Credit Journey® is a free online tool for anyone 18 or older with a valid U.S. address and Social Security number, offering access to your credit score and personalized score improvement plans provided by Experian™—no Chase account required. By using tools like these, you can see how your habits affect your credit score and track your score over time.
In summary
Your FICO score is designed to measure your history with debt, not your overall wealth or personal background. It may be helpful to remember that your credit score is just one piece of your credit profile, and while FICO excludes items like your salary, lenders may still consider them.
