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A clean snapshot of your home buying budget. Great for Reddit or socials.
500 is the absolute floor, 580 unlocks 3.5% down, and 620 opens conventional loans. Run your own numbers below, then see what every threshold means.
Compare rates and get pre-approved. Shopping multiple lenders can save tens of thousands over the life of a loan.
For educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Actual loan approval depends on credit score, employment history, and lender criteria. Consult a mortgage professional before making home buying decisions.
The minimum credit score to buy a house is 500, FHA's absolute floor, which comes with a 10% down payment requirement. The thresholds that matter for most buyers are 580, where FHA's down payment drops to 3.5%, and 620, where conventional loans open up. VA loans have no official minimum, and USDA loans generally want 640.
But "will I be approved?" is only half the question. Your score also sets your rate, your mortgage insurance cost, and ultimately how much house the same income buys. This guide maps every threshold; the calculator above shows your budget at any rate.
| FHA (10% down) | 500 |
| FHA (3.5% down) | 580 |
| VA (veterans & service members) | no official floor; lenders typically 580–620 |
| Conventional | 620 |
| USDA (eligible rural areas) | 640 for automated approval |
| Jumbo (above conforming limits) | typically 700+ |
These are program rules, not promises. Individual lenders layer stricter minimums ("overlays") on top, so one lender's decline is never the final word, especially below 640. Applying with an FHA-specialist broker or a credit union is the standard workaround.
The same buyer ($85,000 income, $400/month in other debts, $25,000 down, 30-year loan) at different scores, using estimated mid-2026 rates:
| Score | Est. rate | Max home price |
| 520 · poor | 7.52% | $244,000 |
| 580 · fair | 7.25% | $248,000 |
| 620 · fair | 7.05% | $250,000 |
| 660 · fair | 6.85% | $253,000 |
| 700 · good | 6.68% | $255,000 |
| 740 · very good | 6.55% | $257,000 |
| 780 · very good | 6.48% | $258,000 |
| 800 · exceptional | 6.45% | $258,000 |
The price column moves less than you'd expect, because a fixed monthly budget stretches to a similar sticker price at any rate. The real cost hides in the payment: on a $225,000 loan, the rate gap between a 520 and an 800 runs about $160 a month, roughly $58,000 over a 30-year loan. And below 580, FHA's 10% minimum caps your price at ten times your down-payment savings regardless of income. Click any score above for the full breakdown at that number.
580 cuts FHA's required down payment from 10% to 3.5%. For buyers under this line, no other improvement comes close: it's the difference between needing $25,000 and needing $9,000 on a $250,000 home.
620 opens conventional lending. That means access to PMI that cancels automatically at 20% equity (FHA's mortgage insurance usually sticks for the life of the loan) and to far more lenders competing for your file.
740 is where conventional pricing effectively tops out. Between 620 and 740, every 20 points buys a cheaper rate tier and cheaper PMI; past 740, lender shopping moves your rate more than your score does.
Each page below runs the same math at that score's estimated rate: loan eligibility, a worked example, and what improving your score would buy:
Credit is only half the equation; income sets the ceiling. See how much house you can afford at your salary, from $30k to $300k a year.