What Is A FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) Score Pie Chart?

A FICO score pie chart visualizes the five core scoring factors using the industry‑standard average weightings, not your exact score composition. It shows typical percentages - Payment History 35 %, Amounts Owed 30 %, Length of Credit History 15 %, New Credit 10 %, Credit Mix 10 % - as an illustration, because FICO never discloses the precise contribution of each factor for any individual. In the next section we'll explain how to read each slice for your own credit profile.

• Five slices represent the standard factors with the average weightings listed above; this helps you see which areas generally carry the most influence.
• The chart is a visual estimate only; it does not reflect the exact impact on your personal score, so use it as a guide, not a definitive diagnostic tool.

Each slice of your FICO score pie chart tells you which credit factor is helping or hurting your total score. Knowing the meaning of the 35 % Payment History slice, the 30 % Amounts Owed slice, and the others lets you focus on the right improvements.

• Payment History (35 %) - Shows the percentage of on‑time versus missed payments; a single 30‑day delinquency can knock dozens of points off your score. Paying every bill by the due date strengthens this slice.
• Amounts Owed (30 %) - Measures credit utilization and outstanding balances; keeping utilization below 30 % (ideally under 10 %) can raise this slice noticeably. Paying down revolving debt moves the slice upward.
• Length of Credit History (15 %) - Looks at the age of your oldest account, average account age, and recent activity; the longer you've kept accounts open, the stronger this slice. Avoid closing old cards to preserve history.
• New Credit (10 %) - Counts recent hard inquiries and newly opened accounts; each inquiry may dip this slice a few points. Limit new applications for a few months before a loan.
• Credit Mix (10 %) - Reflects the variety of credit types (revolving, installment, mortgage); a balanced mix can improve this slice, but it's the least impactful factor. Adding a small installment loan may help if other slices are solid.

(For deeper background, see FICO score basics explained by MyFICO.)

The FICO score pie chart translates the five official weightings - Payment History/35%, Amounts Owed/30%, Length of Credit History/15%, New Credit/10%, and Credit Mix/10% - into the exact point swing you'll see on your 300‑850 scale. Increase the slice for Payment History and your score climbs roughly 3‑4 points for each percentage‑point gain, while a drop in Amounts Owed can shave off a similar amount; the other three factors move the needle more modestly.

By tweaking each slice in the chart you can estimate how many points you'll gain or lose and whether you'll jump from Fair (580‑669) to Good (670‑739) or higher. For example, lowering your Amounts Owed slice from 30 % to 25 % typically adds 5‑7 points, enough to push a 665 score into the Good range. Use this insight when you build your own FICO pie chart in the next step.

Create a FICO score pie chart by turning the five FICO factors into their weighted share of your current score.

1. Pull your most recent credit report and note the values for each factor: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix.
2. Convert each factor to a percentage of its maximum impact using the official weightings - Payment History 35 %, Amounts Owed 30 %, Length of Credit History 15 %, New Credit 10 %, Credit Mix 10 %.
3. Multiply your factor scores (0 - 100) by their weightings to get weighted points (e.g., a 90 % payment‑history rating × 35 % = 31.5 points).
4. Add the five weighted points; the sum equals the portion of the 850‑point scale your current behavior accounts for.
5. Subtract this sum from your actual FICO score to estimate the 'gap' left by other variables not captured in the report.
6. Plot the five weighted points as slices of a pie chart in Excel, Google Sheets, or any free online pie‑chart maker; label each slice with its factor name and percentage.
7. Compare the visual to the ranges Poor < 580, Fair 580‑669, Good 670‑739, Very Good 740‑799, Exceptional 800+ to see where your profile sits before moving to the next section on comparing low, fair, good, and excellent scores.

A low‑score FICO score pie chart spikes the Payment History slice to 45‑50% of the circle and inflates the Amounts Owed slice to 30‑35%, because missed payments and high utilization drown the 35% and 30% weightings; Length of Credit History, New Credit, and Credit Mix appear as thin slivers. A fair‑score chart still shows a prominent Payment History wedge, but it settles near the intended 35‑38% and the Amounts Owed slice contracts to 20‑25%, while Length of Credit History and Credit Mix begin to form modest green and yellow slices, indicating a few years of better behavior.

In a good‑score chart the Payment History slice aligns with its 35% weight, signaling a clean record; the Amounts Owed slice drops to 15‑20%, and Length of Credit History expands toward 15%, reflecting several years of on‑time accounts; New Credit and Credit Mix each claim their full 10% slices.

An excellent‑score chart flips the picture: Payment History occupies the full 35% solidly, Amounts Owed shrinks below 10%, New Credit and Credit Mix both fill their 10% slots, and Length of Credit History often exceeds its 15% share thanks to decades of diverse, well‑managed credit lines, matching the official FICO score ranges.

The quickest wins appear in the slices that consume the most weight and are easiest to adjust.

• Amounts Owed (≈30 %) - If this slice dominates, lower credit‑card balances or consolidate high‑interest debt.
  Reducing utilization by 10 % can lift a score by roughly 20‑30 points in the Fair‑to‑Good range.
• New Credit (≈10 %) - A noticeable slice means recent hard pulls or many recent accounts.
  Pause new applications for 6‑12 months; each avoided inquiry can preserve 5‑10 points.
• Credit Mix (≈10 %) - A thin slice suggests limited account types. Adding a small installment loan (auto, personal) and paying it on time can add 5‑15 points, but only if it doesn't inflate debt levels.
• Length of Credit History (≈15 %) - Often a modest slice; the only practical move is to keep older accounts open and active, which steadies the score over time.
• Payment History (≈35 %) - Largest slice but hardest to fix quickly. If any recent missed payments appear, bring them current and request goodwill removals; each on‑time month thereafter gradually rebuilds this slice.

Focus first on the Amounts Owed and New Credit slices; they usually deliver the biggest bump with the least effort. Once those improve, revisit Credit Mix and Length of Credit History before tackling the more entrenched Payment History issues. This prioritization sets the stage for the next step: estimating loan‑approval odds directly from your updated FICO score pie chart.

Your FICO score pie chart lets you translate slice composition directly into a rough loan‑approval probability, because each slice reflects one of the five FICO factor weightings (Payment History 35%, Amounts Owed 30%, Length of Credit History 15%, New Credit 10%, Credit Mix 10%) that together determine the score range used by lenders to gauge risk. If the chart shows a Payment History slice close to the full 35% and modest Amounts Owed (e.g., 20% of the chart), you're likely in the Good (670‑739) or Very Good (740‑799) band, which historically corresponds to roughly 70‑85% chance of approval for a conventional loan; a chart dominated by a low Payment History slice (e.g., 20%) and a high New Credit slice (15‑20%) usually lands you in the Fair (580‑669) range with an estimated 40‑50% approval odds, while a Poor‑range chart (580) drops the odds to around 20% or less.

Conversely, an Exceptional‑range chart (800+) - where all slices align with or exceed the ideal weightings - can push approval odds above 95%, assuming income and down‑payment meet lender criteria. As we saw in 'identify what each pie slice means for you,' the relative size of each slice is your quick visual cue for where you sit, and in the next section 'if you can't get a pie chart, use this quick substitute' you'll learn a simple calculator that produces the same odds estimate without a graphic.

If you can't generate a FICO score pie chart, open a spreadsheet and create a quick weighted bar list using the five standard factors (Payment History 35%, Amounts Owed 30%, Length of Credit History 15%, New Credit 10%, Credit Mix 10%).

Enter each factor's estimated contribution - multiply your own score component (e.g., 'Payment History rating 90') by its weight, then display the results as horizontal bars or a simple table; this mirrors the visual split you'd see in a pie chart.

The bar list lets you spot dominant weaknesses just as fast, and it feeds directly into the next section on how pie charts can sometimes mislead you about true credit health.

Pie charts can hide the true impact of each factor because the eye judges area, not the fixed weightings that drive a FICO score (Payment History 35%, Amounts Owed 30%, Length of Credit History 15%, New Credit 10%, Credit Mix 10%). A slice that looks dominant may actually represent a modest 5‑point change, while a thin slice can mask a 20‑point swing, leading you to focus on the wrong lever.

The visual trick also encourages you to treat each slice as interchangeable, even though the model caps improvements in high‑weight areas like Payment History. When you compare the 'see how FICO weightings change your score' section with the next real‑world example, you'll notice how misreading a pie chart can delay the easiest fixes and skew loan‑approval expectations.

A real case shows a borrower using a FICO score pie chart to spot a single weakness, fix it, and lift the score within weeks.

The pie chart breaks the score into Payment History 35%, Amounts Owed 30%, Length of Credit History 15%, New Credit 10%, and Credit Mix 10%, letting users see which slice drags the overall number (Poor <580, Fair 580‑669, Good 670‑739, Very Good 740‑799, Exceptional 800+).

Example: Sarah (28, Fair 620) ran a free online tool that generated her FICO score pie chart. The Amounts Owed slice occupied 45% of the chart, far above its 30% target, while Payment History sat at a healthy 30% of its 35% share. She paid $2,500 toward two revolving credit cards, reducing utilization from 78% to 42%.

One month later the pie chart recalibrated: Amounts Owed dropped to 32%, overall score rose to 682 (Good), and a lender approved her auto loan at a 4.9% APR. The visual cue from the pie chart guided the quick credit fix without guessing which factor to target.