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324 Credit score: What You Need to Know in 2025
July 1, 2025

TL;DR
A 324 credit score indicates there's a significant opportunity to build a stronger financial profile. This score falls into the "Poor" FICO score category, providing a clear baseline from which to begin your credit improvement journey.
What Does a 324 Credit Score Mean?
A credit score of 324 is considered “very poor” on the standard FICO Score range of 300 to 850. This number indicates to potential lenders that you are a very high-risk borrower, likely due to a history of significant financial challenges. These can include consistent late payments, accounts sent to collections, loan defaults, or even a past bankruptcy. It essentially paints a picture of past difficulties in managing credit obligations.
With this score, your financial options will be severely limited. Securing new credit, such as a loan or credit card, will be extremely difficult, and any offers you do receive will likely come with very high interest rates and unfavorable terms. While this score presents major obstacles, understanding its meaning is the first step toward improving your financial standing over time.
Who Has a 324 Credit Score?
While age isn't a direct factor in credit score calculations, there is a clear correlation showing scores tend to rise as people get older. This is largely because older individuals have had more time to build a positive payment history and a longer credit history. According to 2023 Experian data, the average FICO score increases with each successive generation:
- Generation Z (ages 18-26): 680
- Millennials (ages 27-42): 690
- Generation X (ages 43-58): 709
- Baby Boomers (ages 59-77): 745
- Silent Generation (ages 78+): 760
Credit Cards With a 324 Credit Score
A credit score of 324 is considered very poor, placing you in the lowest range of credit scores and signaling high risk to potential lenders. This makes it extremely difficult to qualify for most traditional credit cards, as issuers are hesitant to extend credit to applicants with a history of financial challenges. The few options available will likely come with steep interest rates, annual fees, and low credit limits, reflecting the increased risk the lender is taking on.
Kudos offers AI-powered tools like Dream Wallet that analyze your real spending data to find cards that match your financial habits. The platform also provides insights into how applying for a new card may affect your credit, helping you make a responsible choice to build better credit.
Auto Loans and a 324 Credit Score
A 324 credit score places you in the deep subprime category, which lenders view as the highest risk. Consequently, while you may still find a lender willing to offer a loan, you will face extremely high interest rates and a much lower chance of approval.
Here is a breakdown of the average car loan interest rates by credit score bracket for 2025:
- Super-prime (781-850): 5.25% for new cars, 7.13% for used cars
- Prime (661-780): 6.87% for new cars, 9.36% for used cars
- Non-prime (601-660): 9.83% for new cars, 13.92% for used cars
- Subprime (501-600): 13.18% for new cars, 18.86% for used cars
- Deep subprime (300-500): 15.77% for new cars, 21.55% for used cars
Mortgages at a 324 Credit Score
With a 324 credit score, you fall far below the mortgage requirements for any standard home loan. Even the most lenient government-backed programs, like FHA loans, require a minimum score of 500. Conventional, VA, and USDA loans have even higher thresholds. This score effectively disqualifies you from traditional financing, leaving only risky alternative options like owner financing or rent-to-own, which should be approached with extreme caution.
The primary impact of a 324 credit score on loan terms is ineligibility. Lenders will not approve an application with such a low score. In the unlikely event you found a specialty subprime lender, you would face exceptionally high interest rates, steep fees, and a large down payment requirement. Lenders associate a score this low with significant risk, making any potential financing terms extremely unfavorable.
What's in a Credit Score?
Figuring out what goes into your credit score can feel like trying to solve a complex puzzle, but it generally boils down to a handful of key elements. The most common factors include:
- Your payment history, which tracks whether you pay your bills on time, is the most significant factor.
- Credit utilization, or the amount of credit you're using compared to your total available credit, also plays a major role.
- The length of your credit history demonstrates your experience with managing credit over time.
- Having a healthy mix of different types of credit, such as credit cards and installment loans, can positively impact your score.
- Finally, recent credit inquiries, which occur when you apply for new credit, are also taken into account.
How to Improve Your 324 Credit Score
Your credit score plays a crucial role in your financial life, and it is entirely possible to improve your score with consistent, positive behavior. Whether you're looking to boost your FICO® score or VantageScore, here are four proven methods to improve your creditworthiness.
- Monitor your credit reports regularly. This allows you to identify and dispute any inaccuracies that may be unfairly lowering your score, which is a critical first step for anyone with a damaged credit profile.
- Establish automatic bill payments. Since payment history is the most significant factor in your score, this action ensures you build a track record of on-time payments, which is essential for rebuilding from a very low score.
- Apply for a secured credit card. This type of card is designed for those with limited or damaged credit, allowing you to establish a positive payment history that gets reported to the major credit bureaus.
- Become an authorized user. By being added to the account of someone with good credit habits, their positive payment history and low credit utilization can be added to your credit report.
For more assistance, you can use the tools offered by Kudos to help manage your credit cards and improve your score.
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