Direct Answer
The tables below are computed at build time from the committed national HMDA atlas snapshot. Headline rates, rankings, and the verified date refresh when we re-run the LAR aggregator - without rewriting this article.
Last reviewed: · Sources: FFIEC / CFPB combined modified LAR; Census 2020 county FIPS
Editorial note: HMDA shows aggregate outcomes, not the underwriting file behind each decision. This is not fair-lending legal analysis, a lender review, or personal financial advice.
Research method: Stream the combined modified LAR, keep loan purpose = home purchase and actions 1-5, then roll up by loan type, DTI bucket, CLTV bucket, state, and county. County rankings require at least 500 applications. When a prior-year LAR is supplied, we add state year-over-year denial deltas.
HMDA denial atlas · Snapshot verified
In 2025 HMDA home-purchase data, the U.S. national denial rate was 10.86% (579,042 denied of 5,331,416 final-action applications). Among counties with at least 500 applications, Floyd County, KY ranked highest at 41.45%.
Download CSVs: states · top counties · loan type · DTI · CLTV · state YoY .
Denial rate by loan type
| Loan type | Applications | Denied | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 3,909,075 | 448,614 | 11.48% |
| FHA | 906,482 | 94,695 | 10.45% |
| VA | 460,027 | 30,113 | 6.55% |
| USDA / RHS | 55,832 | 5,620 | 10.07% |
Denial rate by debt-to-income (DTI) bucket
| DTI bucket | Applications | Denied | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| <20% | 188,145 | 34,133 | 18.14% |
| 20%-<30% | 520,830 | 47,546 | 9.13% |
| 30%-<36% | 572,600 | 44,670 | 7.80% |
| 36%-<50% | 2,074,683 | 159,455 | 7.69% |
| 50%-60% | 420,171 | 92,686 | 22.06% |
| >60% | 169,756 | 143,728 | 84.67% |
| NA/Exempt | 1,385,231 | 56,824 | 4.10% |
Denial rate by combined loan-to-value (CLTV)
| CLTV bucket | Applications | Denied | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| <=80 | 1,637,088 | 131,214 | 8.02% |
| 80-90 | 458,519 | 45,305 | 9.88% |
| 90-100 | 1,492,298 | 169,859 | 11.38% |
| >100 | 222,010 | 33,633 | 15.15% |
| NA/Exempt | 1,521,501 | 199,031 | 13.08% |
State denial rates (highest first)
| State | Applications | Denied | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS | 54,301 | 10,955 | 20.17% |
| LA | 73,941 | 14,359 | 19.42% |
| WV | 29,199 | 4,757 | 16.29% |
| KY | 84,612 | 13,377 | 15.81% |
| AL | 104,558 | 16,070 | 15.37% |
| NM | 38,572 | 5,840 | 15.14% |
| PR | 17,202 | 2,600 | 15.11% |
| TX | 578,009 | 83,585 | 14.46% |
| SC | 136,639 | 19,764 | 14.46% |
| AR | 61,947 | 8,532 | 13.77% |
| OK | 75,583 | 10,166 | 13.45% |
| FL | 451,953 | 59,101 | 13.08% |
| MI | 159,440 | 20,607 | 12.92% |
| GA | 202,476 | 23,737 | 11.72% |
| TN | 140,954 | 15,733 | 11.16% |
| NC | 223,020 | 24,078 | 10.80% |
| DE | 20,174 | 2,150 | 10.66% |
| NY | 172,726 | 18,225 | 10.55% |
| WY | 10,633 | 1,108 | 10.42% |
| HI | 14,540 | 1,457 | 10.02% |
| IN | 122,934 | 11,896 | 9.68% |
| IL | 183,939 | 17,268 | 9.39% |
| NV | 55,542 | 5,215 | 9.39% |
| MD | 91,510 | 8,265 | 9.03% |
| CA | 382,091 | 33,995 | 8.90% |
| ME | 22,978 | 2,035 | 8.86% |
| AZ | 133,905 | 11,693 | 8.73% |
| OH | 190,906 | 16,569 | 8.68% |
| PA | 169,301 | 14,646 | 8.65% |
| MO | 111,948 | 9,598 | 8.57% |
| MT | 16,943 | 1,448 | 8.55% |
| NJ | 122,806 | 10,435 | 8.50% |
| VA | 146,460 | 12,209 | 8.34% |
| KS | 45,157 | 3,658 | 8.10% |
| CT | 49,434 | 3,965 | 8.02% |
| DC | 7,974 | 638 | 8.00% |
| NH | 21,252 | 1,690 | 7.95% |
| VT | 8,777 | 672 | 7.66% |
| OR | 62,237 | 4,747 | 7.63% |
| CO | 116,640 | 8,872 | 7.61% |
| UT | 62,488 | 4,746 | 7.60% |
| IA | 53,777 | 4,028 | 7.49% |
| WI | 87,148 | 6,494 | 7.45% |
| SD | 13,215 | 973 | 7.36% |
| MA | 85,031 | 6,017 | 7.08% |
| RI | 14,593 | 1,030 | 7.06% |
| MN | 89,540 | 6,163 | 6.88% |
| WA | 119,467 | 8,063 | 6.75% |
| ID | 39,832 | 2,603 | 6.53% |
| NE | 31,761 | 1,988 | 6.26% |
| ND | 10,739 | 659 | 6.14% |
| GU | 166 | 10 | 6.02% |
| AK | 10,174 | 543 | 5.34% |
| VI | 272 | 10 | 3.68% |
Top 50 counties by denial rate
| Rank | County | State | Applications | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Floyd County | KY | 649 | 41.45% |
| 2 | McKinley County | NM | 701 | 41.23% |
| 3 | Knox County | KY | 592 | 39.70% |
| 4 | Pike County | KY | 1,002 | 39.22% |
| 5 | Liberty County | TX | 5,590 | 38.30% |
| 6 | Orangeburg County | SC | 2,397 | 38.09% |
| 7 | Williamsburg County | SC | 501 | 37.52% |
| 8 | Whitley County | KY | 918 | 36.27% |
| 9 | Tyler County | TX | 624 | 36.06% |
| 10 | Pike County | MS | 752 | 35.51% |
| 11 | Dillon County | SC | 589 | 35.14% |
| 12 | St. Landry Parish | LA | 1,635 | 33.58% |
| 13 | Marion County | MS | 597 | 33.17% |
| 14 | Laurel County | KY | 1,630 | 33.13% |
| 15 | Jasper County | TX | 934 | 32.66% |
| 16 | Lincoln County | MS | 650 | 32.62% |
| 17 | Sabine Parish | LA | 685 | 32.41% |
| 18 | Colleton County | SC | 1,102 | 32.30% |
| 19 | Anderson County | TX | 1,040 | 32.12% |
| 20 | Natchitoches Parish | LA | 648 | 31.94% |
| 21 | Scott County | MS | 509 | 31.83% |
| 22 | Shelby County | TX | 513 | 31.77% |
| 23 | Jackson County | FL | 931 | 31.15% |
| 24 | Polk County | TX | 1,233 | 31.14% |
| 25 | De Soto Parish | LA | 686 | 30.90% |
| 26 | St. Mary Parish | LA | 532 | 30.83% |
| 27 | Marion County | SC | 612 | 30.72% |
| 28 | Pike County | AL | 669 | 30.34% |
| 29 | Atascosa County | TX | 1,562 | 30.22% |
| 30 | Leon County | TX | 543 | 30.20% |
| 31 | Apache County | AZ | 646 | 30.19% |
| 32 | St. Martin Parish | LA | 998 | 30.16% |
| 33 | Washington Parish | LA | 661 | 30.11% |
| 34 | Hardin County | TX | 1,790 | 29.89% |
| 35 | Cass County | TX | 660 | 29.70% |
| 36 | San Jacinto County | TX | 1,028 | 29.67% |
| 37 | Freestone County | TX | 573 | 29.67% |
| 38 | Gaines County | TX | 863 | 29.66% |
| 39 | Panola County | MS | 788 | 29.19% |
| 40 | Robeson County | NC | 2,076 | 29.09% |
| 41 | Union County | AR | 841 | 29.01% |
| 42 | Simpson County | MS | 574 | 28.92% |
| 43 | Grimes County | TX | 974 | 28.85% |
| 44 | Hockley County | TX | 572 | 28.85% |
| 45 | Wayne County | WV | 659 | 28.68% |
| 46 | Claiborne County | TN | 812 | 28.33% |
| 47 | Limestone County | TX | 512 | 28.32% |
| 48 | Warren County | MS | 674 | 27.89% |
| 49 | Hot Spring County | AR | 831 | 27.80% |
| 50 | Cherokee County | TX | 1,119 | 27.79% |
Lowest denial-rate counties
| County | State | Applications | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward County | ND | 1,034 | 3.19% |
| Johnson County | KS | 10,617 | 3.65% |
| Dane County | WI | 8,078 | 4.07% |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | AK | 1,471 | 4.08% |
| Kandiyohi County | MN | 513 | 4.09% |
| Cass County | ND | 3,020 | 4.14% |
| Hampshire County | MA | 1,519 | 4.21% |
| Lancaster County | NE | 5,765 | 4.25% |
| Bristol County | RI | 572 | 4.37% |
| Sarpy County | NE | 4,193 | 4.56% |
| Hamilton County | IN | 8,545 | 4.59% |
| Douglas County | CO | 8,860 | 4.64% |
| Carroll County | MD | 2,393 | 4.64% |
| Lincoln County | SD | 1,431 | 4.68% |
| Oconee County | GA | 684 | 4.68% |
| Platte County | MO | 1,945 | 4.73% |
| Outagamie County | WI | 2,993 | 4.74% |
| Arlington County | VA | 2,535 | 4.81% |
| Waukesha County | WI | 6,163 | 4.84% |
| Calvert County | MD | 1,549 | 4.84% |
Largest state denial-rate changes (2024 → 2025)
| State | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| VI | 5.66% | 3.68% | -1.98 pts |
| PR | 16.99% | 15.11% | -1.88 pts |
| GU | 7.81% | 6.02% | -1.79 pts |
| AR | 15.14% | 13.77% | -1.37 pts |
| CO | 8.81% | 7.61% | -1.20 pts |
| LA | 20.61% | 19.42% | -1.19 pts |
| CT | 8.98% | 8.02% | -0.96 pts |
| KY | 16.77% | 15.81% | -0.96 pts |
| VT | 8.58% | 7.66% | -0.92 pts |
| MS | 21.02% | 20.17% | -0.85 pts |
| ND | 6.94% | 6.14% | -0.80 pts |
| IA | 8.25% | 7.49% | -0.76 pts |
| ME | 9.62% | 8.86% | -0.76 pts |
| SC | 15.19% | 14.46% | -0.73 pts |
| WV | 17.00% | 16.29% | -0.71 pts |
What The Data Shows
Product mix matters as much as geography
A statewide denial rate blends conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA applications. Markets with heavier FHA or VA share can look “stricter” or “easier” for reasons that have nothing to do with a single bank’s credit box. Always read the loan-type table beside the state table.
DTI and CLTV are screening signals, not destiny
Denial rates rise in higher DTI and CLTV buckets because those files leave less margin for error. Your own outcome still depends on credit history, reserves, employment, property type, and lender overlays. Model payment affordability in the Mortgage Calculator before treating any bucket rate as personal odds.
County ranks need a volume floor
Tiny counties can post extreme denial rates on a few dozen files. The 500-application floor keeps the top-50 list journalistically usable. For a denser 137-county calculator footprint, see Mortgage Denial Rates by County.
Method And Limits
- Source: FFIEC combined modified Loan Application Register (LAR).
- Filters: Home purchase; actions originated, approved-not-accepted, denied, withdrawn, closed incomplete.
- Excluded: Purchased loans, preapproval-only actions, refinance and cash-out purpose codes.
- DTI: Exact values 36-49 collapse into
36%-<50%; NA/Exempt stay separate. - CLTV: Parsed numeric ratio into
<=80,80-90,90-100,>100, else NA/Exempt. - YoY: Optional prior-year LAR contributes state denial deltas only (not a full prior-year atlas).
Related Reading
- Mortgage Denial Rates by County - 2025 HMDA - 137-county calculator footprint rankings
- Texas vs California Mortgage Denial Rates - two-state deep dive
- Weekly PMMS Payment Index - rate-to-payment cite series
- DTI and Mortgage Prequalification - how DTI enters underwriting
Official And Supporting Sources
Next Step
Download the state denial CSV, then price a local payment in the Mortgage Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the national mortgage denial rate in 2025 HMDA data?
The national home-purchase denial rate is computed on this page from the CFPB/FFIEC combined modified LAR: denied applications divided by final-action applications (actions 1-5). The headline figure and verified date update whenever we re-aggregate the snapshot. Use the speakable summary and CSV downloads for the exact current numbers.
How do denial rates differ by loan type?
Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA/RHS loans serve different borrower mixes and underwriting rules. The loan-type table on this page shows applications, denials, and denial rates for each product under the same home-purchase filter so you can compare products without mixing refinance or purchase-loan activity.
Why does denial rise with DTI and CLTV?
Higher debt-to-income (DTI) and combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratios leave less cushion for payment shocks and equity. HMDA publishes DTI in bins (with exact values between 36% and 50%) and CLTV as a continuous ratio. We bucket those fields and report denial rates so the relationship is visible without claiming any individual applicant will be denied.
Which counties have the highest mortgage denial rates?
The top-50 table ranks counties with at least 500 final-action home-purchase applications by denial rate. That threshold avoids tiny volumes that swing wildly. Download the CSV for the ranked list; names come from the Census 2020 county FIPS file.
Can I cite or download this HMDA atlas?
Yes. Use the citation block on this page and credit the CFPB/FFIEC modified LAR as the source. CSV files for states, top counties, loan type, DTI, CLTV, and state year-over-year changes (when a prior-year LAR was included) are linked above the tables. Dataset JSON-LD points at the state CSV as the primary distribution.
How is this different from the county denial rankings article?
The county rankings post focuses on 137 counties inside our mortgage calculator footprint. This atlas is the national cite hub: all states, national loan-type/DTI/CLTV cuts, and top counties nationwide with downloadable CSVs. Cross-link both when you need local calculator context plus national benchmarks.
Related guides
- Mortgage Denial Rates by County - HMDA (2026) 2025 HMDA: Polk County FL leads at 17.42% denial rate. Rankings across 137 counties in 20 states. Snapshot verified Oct 16, 2026. Free calculator.
- Texas vs California Denial Rates - HMDA (2026) 2025 HMDA: Texas home-purchase denials 14.46% vs California 8.90%. Snapshot re-aggregated Oct 16, 2026 from combined modified LAR. Free calculator.
- 2026 Homebuyer Approval Odds by County - Free CSV County home-purchase approval odds from 2025 HMDA, joined to conforming limits, ACS costs, NFIP, and FMR. Free CSV, methodology, and press kit.
- HMDA Closing Costs by County 2025 - Median Loan Costs See median HMDA total loan costs, rates, and CLTV by county from originated home-purchase loans. Free methodology and CSV when the LAR snapshot includes costs.
- Texas Counties - Highest Mortgage Costs (2026) A source-checked 2026 look at Texas counties with the highest property-tax-driven mortgage costs, with monthly payment examples for home buyers. Free data guide.