What a 600 credit score gets you
Mortgage
Possible
FHA is the clear path, with 3.5% down allowed from 580. Eligible veterans can look at VA, which sets no minimum score, although VA's own buyer's guide notes that lenders may want 620. A conventional loan through Fannie Mae's automated system has had no minimum since November 2025, but the lender has the last word.
Car loan
Limited
Car financing may be available, subject to lender requirements. If your VantageScore 4.0 is in the 501-600 tier, Experian’s Q2 2026 averages were 13.52% new and 19.1% used. A FICO 600 does not establish that VantageScore; compare actual APR, amount and term.
Credit cards
Limited
Unsecured cards for fair credit exist, with small limits and APRs well above the 22.15% Federal Reserve average on cards that charge interest. Carrying a balance at those rates is the most expensive habit you can have at this score.
Renting
Possible
There is no official minimum score for renting, and the CFPB found credit history is a limited predictor of whether tenants pay. That does not stop screening companies from using it, so bring proof of income and a landlord reference before they run your file.
These are broad credit-score categories, not approval odds. Lenders also assess income, debt, credit history and their own requirements.
What 600 costs you in interest
600 has no line on the myFICO staircases, which start at 620 for mortgages and 640 for cars. For car loans, Experian's averages by VantageScore tier fill the gap, and 600 is the last point of the Subprime bar, right at the edge of the steepest drop on the chart.
If your VantageScore 4.0 is 600
Subprime · 501–600. A FICO 600 does not establish this VantageScore.
$460.40/mo · $7,624 total interest
$519.91/mo · $11,195 total interest
Illustration: $20,000 financed over 60 months at the quarterly average APR. Experian averages cover different loan terms; these are payment scenarios, not quotes for a 60-month loan. Compare your amount and another VantageScore →
$35,000 new car, 60 months, by VantageScore tier
| Score band | Rate | Monthly | Total interest | vs. best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 781–850 | 4.41% | $651 | $4,064 | – |
| 661–780 | 6.15% | $679 | $5,746 | +$1,681 |
| 601–660 | 9.71% | $739 | $9,320 | +$5,255 |
| 501–600 | 13.52% | $806 | $13,342 | +$9,278 |
| 300–500 | 16.11% | $853 | $16,191 | +$12,126 |
From Subprime to Nonprime the average new-car rate falls from 13.52% to 9.71%, and the used-car rate falls further still, from 19.1% to 13.93%. No other step on Experian's chart is larger. Two cautions: these are averages across lenders, and they are VantageScore tiers. You do not have just one score, so a FICO of 600 can come with a VantageScore a little above or below it. Ask which one the lender pulled.
For a house, FHA is the route that works at 600: its 3.5% minimum down payment applies from 580. FHA has no rate table by score, and lenders set their own prices, so get quotes from more than one.
Your FHA down payment, in dollars
Compare the FHA minimum at 600 with 620 using the same home price.
3.5% minimum down payment
3.5% minimum down payment
The FHA minimum does not change at this step.
The minimum down payment is only one part of the loan decision. Closing costs, mortgage insurance and lender requirements are additional. These examples assume the price equals the FHA adjusted value; a lower appraisal can change the cash needed.
Source: HUD FHA credit-score and LTV rules →What would a different score cost?
Same loan. Two scores. See the difference.
VantageScore 4.0 scenarios · Experian Q2 2026. A FICO 600 does not establish a VantageScore of 600.
At 601 compared with 600
| Score | Reference rate | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 | 13.52% | $460.40 | $7,624.18 |
| 601 | 9.71% | $422.09 | $5,325.56 |
At 601, the estimate is $38.31 less per month and $2,298.62 less interest over the full term.
Car APR averages by VantageScore 4.0 tier, Experian Q2 2026. Both scores use the same quarterly dataset. Terms and amounts are illustrative; the averages are not specific to a 60-month loan. Methodology.
What this estimate includes
Estimates use national average bands, not an offer or approval prediction. Your lender may use a different score. Mortgage payments exclude taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and fees. Full-term interest assumes no refinancing, early payoff or extra payments.
How to get from 600 to 620
Twenty points. The round number means nothing to a lender; what matters is what is holding you at 600. At this level it is usually something negative on the report, or cards close to their limits, and the fix for each is different.
- Find out which it is. Pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com. A mortgage lender looks at all three bureaus, and the reports do not always say the same thing.
- Dispute what is wrong with every bureau that shows it. A collection that is not yours or a late payment that was not late is worth more than any balance trick. The bureaus must investigate, at no cost to you.
- If balances are the problem, pay them down before the statement date. Amounts owed are 30% of a FICO score, and the balance the issuer reports is the one the score sees.
- Leave new credit alone. A car loan taken out to "build credit" just before a mortgage application adds an inquiry and a new account at the worst moment.
If you are about to finance a car, check your VantageScore as well. At 601 a lender using VantageScore 4.0 sees a Near prime borrower; at 600, a Subprime one.
What a Fair score means (580 to 669)
Fair is where credit stops being a yes-or-no question and becomes a price question. About one in seven Americans with a FICO score sits in this range, according to Experian's 2025 data, and most of them can get a mortgage, a car loan and a card. What they cannot get is a good price on any of the three, and the gap is widest on cars, where subprime rates run at double the prime ones.
The range is wide, and the bottom and the top behave differently. Near 580 you meet the floor of FHA's 3.5% down payment and the edge of what many car lenders will do without a large down payment. Near 669 you are a few points from Good and inside the bands lenders publish prices for. If you are in the low 600s, the rungs at 620 and 640 matter more than any label.
A Fair score usually means something specific happened: a late payment in the last couple of years, a collection, maxed-out cards, or a thin file with little history. Which one it is decides how fast you can climb. High card balances can be fixed in a month; a late payment fades over years.
Questions about a 600 score
Can I get a car loan with a 600 credit score?
Usually, at subprime prices. Experian's Q2 2026 average for VantageScore 501 to 600 was 13.52% on new cars; one tier up, from 601, it was 9.71%.
Can I buy a house with a 600 credit score?
Yes, most realistically with an FHA loan, which allows 3.5% down from a score of 580. Conventional is up to the lender: Fannie Mae's automated underwriting has no minimum score, but manual underwriting still requires 620.
Sources (13)
- HUD Handbook 4000.1 (FHA minimum credit scores) and Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, October 8, 2026
- VA Home Loan Buyer's Guide (no VA minimum credit score)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01, General Requirements for Credit Scores
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2025-09 (minimum score removed for DU loans), November 5, 2025
- Experian: State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q2 2026, August 2026
- VantageScore: The complete guide to your VantageScore, June 2025
- Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit (credit card interest rates), October 7, 2026
- CFPB: Tenant background checks market report, November 2022
- CFPB: What is a credit score?
- myFICO: What is a FICO Score? (score ranges and what goes into them)
- AnnualCreditReport.com (free reports from all three bureaus)
- CFPB: How do I dispute an error on my credit report?
- Experian: What is the average credit score in the U.S.? (share of consumers in each FICO range), 2025 data, published March 2026
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