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Money & Accountability · CFPB HMDA · A fair-lending audit in eleven plates

Who Lends to Whom

Federal law makes the mortgage the best-documented yes-or-no decision in American life: since 1975, nearly every lender has had to put every application and every outcome on the public record. Read a year of that ledger and one pattern holds in nearly every state and metro - who gets the loan, and who hears no.

12.0M covered mortgage records a year
10.5 pp Black - White denial-rate gap
21.1% highest group denial rate
Curated CFPB HMDA · 2024

The denial map

Plate 01Overall denial rate by state

Every state, shaded by the share of mortgage applications its lenders turned down. Darker is a harder market to get a yes in. The deepest grades pool across the Deep South - Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama - and reach up through Florida and West Virginia, while the Northern Plains and upper Midwest - the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota - stay palest. Geography is the first cut of the ledger; the sharper cut comes two plates down.

Alabama: 21.1% denied Alaska: 15.7% denied Arizona: 17.8% denied Colorado: 17.4% denied Florida: 22.6% denied Georgia: 21.0% denied Indiana: 17.9% denied Kansas: 16.1% denied Maine: 17.2% denied Massachusetts: 18.3% denied Minnesota: 14.2% denied New Jersey: 20.2% denied North Carolina: 19.3% denied North Dakota: 11.8% denied Oklahoma: 18.7% denied Pennsylvania: 20.1% denied South Dakota: 14.0% denied Texas: 20.4% denied Wyoming: 16.9% denied Connecticut: 19.3% denied Missouri: 16.2% denied West Virginia: 22.8% denied Illinois: 18.7% denied New Mexico: 19.7% denied Arkansas: 20.0% denied California: 19.5% denied Delaware: 20.5% denied District of Columbia: 19.5% denied Hawaii: 23.7% denied Iowa: 13.4% denied Kentucky: 20.3% denied Maryland: 19.8% denied Michigan: 19.8% denied Mississippi: 24.3% denied Montana: 16.7% denied New Hampshire: 18.8% denied New York: 21.1% denied Ohio: 19.2% denied Oregon: 16.7% denied Tennessee: 18.1% denied Utah: 17.0% denied Virginia: 17.6% denied Washington: 17.2% denied Wisconsin: 14.8% denied Nebraska: 14.3% denied South Carolina: 19.9% denied Idaho: 16.2% denied Nevada: 19.0% denied Vermont: 16.1% denied Louisiana: 24.1% denied Rhode Island: 21.0% denied
Denial rate
  • under 16.7%
  • 16.7% - 18.8%
  • 18.8% - 20.1%
  • over 20.1%
Curated
Denial rate by state - the extremes (table view is the source of truth)
Hardest to get a yesDenied EasiestDenied
Mississippi24.3% North Dakota11.8%
Louisiana24.1% Iowa13.4%
Hawaii23.7% South Dakota14.0%
West Virginia22.8% Minnesota14.2%
Florida22.6% Nebraska14.3%

Fifty-one markets, one axis

Plate 02One dot per state

Flatten the map and the country's spread is a factor of more than two: from North Dakota at 11.8% to Mississippi at 24.3%. Most states cluster within a couple points of the 18.8% median - the tail to the right is the story.

12% 15% 18% 21% 24% US average 19.3% North Dakota: 11.8% denied Iowa: 13.4% denied Minnesota: 14.2% denied Nebraska: 14.3% denied South Dakota: 14.0% denied Wisconsin: 14.8% denied Alaska: 15.7% denied Idaho: 16.2% denied Kansas: 16.1% denied Missouri: 16.2% denied Vermont: 16.1% denied Montana: 16.7% denied Oregon: 16.7% denied Wyoming: 16.9% denied Colorado: 17.4% denied Maine: 17.2% denied Utah: 17.0% denied Washington: 17.2% denied Arizona: 17.8% denied Indiana: 17.9% denied Virginia: 17.6% denied Massachusetts: 18.3% denied Tennessee: 18.1% denied Illinois: 18.7% denied New Hampshire: 18.8% denied Oklahoma: 18.7% denied Connecticut: 19.3% denied Nevada: 19.0% denied North Carolina: 19.3% denied Ohio: 19.2% denied California: 19.5% denied District of Columbia: 19.5% denied Maryland: 19.8% denied Michigan: 19.8% denied New Mexico: 19.7% denied South Carolina: 19.9% denied Arkansas: 20.0% denied Kentucky: 20.3% denied New Jersey: 20.2% denied Pennsylvania: 20.1% denied Texas: 20.4% denied Delaware: 20.5% denied Alabama: 21.1% denied Georgia: 21.0% denied New York: 21.1% denied Rhode Island: 21.0% denied Florida: 22.6% denied West Virginia: 22.8% denied Hawaii: 23.7% denied Louisiana: 24.1% denied Mississippi: 24.3% denied ND 11.8 MS 24.3
Plate 02 · Real Each dot is a state, shaded by the map's quartile grade. Quartile breaks fall at 16.7%, 18.8%, and 20.1%; the application-weighted US average is 19.3%. Real 2024 figures - the extremes table above is the source-of-truth read.

The gap, one bar per group

Plate 03Denied · home-purchase slice

Now hold the loan constant. On the same product - first-lien, owner-occupied home purchase - the ledger still sorts its noes by race: Black applicants are turned down 2.1 times as often as White applicants. The dashed rule is the White baseline; everything to the right of it is the gap.

Plate 03 · Real Scale runs 0 - 24% denied; 386,739 Black applications acted upon sit in the slice. A denial rate is not a discrimination verdict - HMDA carries no credit score - but it is the count of who was turned away, and it moves the same direction every year it is measured.

Income doesn't buy parity

Plate 04Denied, by income band

The reflex explanation for the gap is money. HMDA lets you test it: hold income constant and the gap refuses to close. A Black applicant reporting over $150,000 a year is denied at 9.5% - more than double the 4.2% for a White applicant at the same income, and higher than the 8.1% a White applicant earning $75,000 to $100,000 faces.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Under $50k White (non-Hispanic), Under $50k: 26.9% denied Black, Under $50k: 42.9% denied 26.9 42.9 $50k - $75k White (non-Hispanic), $50k - $75k: 11.9% denied Black, $50k - $75k: 21.3% denied 11.9 21.3 $75k - $100k White (non-Hispanic), $75k - $100k: 8.1% denied Black, $75k - $100k: 15.3% denied 8.1 15.3 $100k - $150k White (non-Hispanic), $100k - $150k: 5.7% denied Black, $100k - $150k: 11.9% denied 5.7 11.9 Over $150k White (non-Hispanic), Over $150k: 4.2% denied Black, Over $150k: 9.5% denied 4.2 9.5
White applicants Black applicants % of applications denied · same home-purchase slice
Plate 04 · Real Income is the gross annual figure the lender relied on, as reported in the HMDA record. Every dot carries its value; the absolute gap narrows from 16.0 points at the bottom band to 5.3 at the top - but the ratio never closes: a Black applicant is denied 1.6 to 2.3 times as often as a White one at every income level. Real 2024 HMDA figures.

Where the gap is widest

Plate 05Top metros · Black - White gap

The national gap is an average of very different cities. Ranked here by the distance from the White denial rate (open dot) to the Black rate (filled) on the same home-purchase slice: Lafayette, LA leads, at 22.9 points, and the Deep South - Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama - fills the table.

# Metro White → Black denial rate Black White Gap
1 Lafayette, LA
38.2% 15.3% +22.9
2 Charleston, SC
29.6% 6.7% +22.9
3 Tallahassee, FL
32.0% 9.2% +22.8
4 Florence, SC
34.1% 15.5% +18.6
5 Tuscaloosa, AL
32.0% 13.8% +18.2
6 Jackson, MS
29.0% 11.2% +17.8
7 New Orleans, LA
22.9% 6.1% +16.8
8 Greenville, SC
28.0% 11.3% +16.7
9 Shreveport, LA
28.2% 11.9% +16.3
10 Baton Rouge, LA
27.8% 11.7% +16.1
11 Montgomery, AL
25.8% 10.5% +15.3
12 Spartanburg, SC
27.0% 12.3% +14.7
White applicants Black applicants axis 0 - 40% denied

Plate 05 · Real Only metros with at least 1,000 applications acted upon in each group are ranked, so the comparison holds. In Lafayette, LA, 38.2% of Black applications are turned down against 15.3% of White. Real 2024 HMDA figures.

No metro passes the parity test

Plate 06One dot per metro

Put every metro on the same plot: the White denial rate across, the Black denial rate up. Even-handed lending would put a metro on the 1x line. All 28 sit above it, and 20 clear the 2x line - where a Black applicant is more than twice as likely to be turned down as a White one in the same market. Even the narrowest ratio in this set is 1.6x.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 0% 5% 10% 15% 1x parity 2x 3x Lafayette, LA: Black 38.2%, White 15.3% denied Charleston, SC: Black 29.6%, White 6.7% denied Tallahassee, FL: Black 32.0%, White 9.2% denied Florence, SC: Black 34.1%, White 15.5% denied Tuscaloosa, AL: Black 32.0%, White 13.8% denied Jackson, MS: Black 29.0%, White 11.2% denied New Orleans, LA: Black 22.9%, White 6.1% denied Greenville, SC: Black 28.0%, White 11.3% denied Shreveport, LA: Black 28.2%, White 11.9% denied Baton Rouge, LA: Black 27.8%, White 11.7% denied Montgomery, AL: Black 25.8%, White 10.5% denied Spartanburg, SC: Black 27.0%, White 12.3% denied Arlington, VA: Black 10.5%, White 3.9% denied Atlanta, GA: Black 14.1%, White 6.6% denied Austin, TX: Black 12.0%, White 6.0% denied Charlotte, NC: Black 15.6%, White 6.7% denied Chicago, IL: Black 16.7%, White 5.4% denied Dallas, TX: Black 14.5%, White 6.5% denied Denver, CO: Black 12.9%, White 4.7% denied Houston, TX: Black 17.7%, White 10.5% denied Los Angeles, CA: Black 15.7%, White 8.0% denied Minneapolis, MN: Black 11.5%, White 4.8% denied New York, NY: Black 16.5%, White 8.5% denied Orlando, FL: Black 16.4%, White 8.7% denied Phoenix, AZ: Black 14.3%, White 6.3% denied Riverside, CA: Black 14.2%, White 8.4% denied San Antonio, TX: Black 14.8%, White 9.1% denied Tampa, FL: Black 14.7%, White 9.3% denied LafayetteTampa Black denial rate ↑ White denial rate →
Plate 06 · Real 28 metros from the leaderboard and compare set, same home-purchase slice. Lafayette is the far corner: 38.2% against 15.3%. Exact rates for every dot are in the leaderboard table above and on the compare page. Real 2024 HMDA figures.

Every metro tells its own version of the same story. Pull two of them side by side and read yours.

Compare two metros side by side →

Two mortgage markets

Plate 07Product mix of originations

The denials are only half the sorting. Among the loans that do close, 72.6% of White borrowers' home purchases ride conventional credit - the cheapest kind. For Black borrowers that falls to 42.7%, and government-backed FHA and VA loans, with their insurance premiums and fees, make up most of the difference.

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Asian Asian - Conventional: 87.7% of originations Asian - FHA-insured: 8.6% of originations Asian - VA-guaranteed: 3.6% of originations Asian - RHS / other: 0.1% of originations White White (non-Hispanic) - Conventional: 72.6% of originations White (non-Hispanic) - FHA-insured: 15.7% of originations White (non-Hispanic) - VA-guaranteed: 10.3% of originations White (non-Hispanic) - RHS / other: 1.4% of originations Hispanic Hispanic or Latino - Conventional: 54.4% of originations Hispanic or Latino - FHA-insured: 36.7% of originations Hispanic or Latino - VA-guaranteed: 8.3% of originations Hispanic or Latino - RHS / other: 0.5% of originations Black Black or African American - Conventional: 42.7% of originations Black or African American - FHA-insured: 40.3% of originations Black or African American - VA-guaranteed: 16% of originations Black or African American - RHS / other: 0.9% of originations
  • Conventional
  • FHA-insured
  • VA-guaranteed
  • RHS / other
Product mix of home-purchase originations, % (table view is the source of truth)
Group ConventionalFHA-insuredVA-guaranteedRHS / other
Asian 87.7%8.6%3.6%0.1%
White (non-Hispanic) 72.6%15.7%10.3%1.4%
Hispanic or Latino 54.4%36.7%8.3%0.5%
Black or African American 42.7%40.3%16%0.9%
Plate 07 · Real Home-purchase originations only, first-lien, owner-occupied, by HMDA loan type. FHA insurance is the market's fallback when conventional underwriting says no - so the mix is the gap's quieter twin. Real 2024 shares; the FHA-reliance pattern the CFPB has documented.

Why the “no”

Plate 08Primary denial reason · share of denials

Every denial is filed with a reason. Debt-to-income leads by a wide margin - one no in three - then credit history and collateral. Read the list with care: these are the reasons lenders report, not an audit of them, and "collateral" in an appraisal-starved neighborhood is not a neutral word.

Plate 08 · Real Primary reason only (HMDA allows up to four per denial); bars are scaled to the leader and every bar carries its share. Real 2024 shares across all denied home-loan records, DTI first - as published CFPB reporting finds.

What happens to 12 million applications

Plate 09Action taken · all records

Ground the whole page in the raw outcomes. Of a year's ledger, roughly 6.2M applications become loans; millions more are withdrawn by the applicant, filed incomplete, or are loans bought and resold between lenders. The denied slice - about 2.1M decisions - is the one every other plate here reads.

  • Originated 6.2M 51.4%
  • Purchased / preapproval 1.3M 10.9%
  • Withdrawn 1.5M 12.7%
  • Denied 2.1M 17.2%
  • Approved, not taken 0.35M 2.9%
  • Closed incomplete 0.58M 4.8%

Plate 09 · Real One proportional bar, 12.0M records wide. Purchased loans and preapproval requests are held out of every denial rate on this page, so no application is counted twice. Real 2024 counts across all covered records, 50 states and DC.

The market that whipsawed

Plate 10Applications filed per year

The ledger itself is not steady. Pandemic-era rates swelled it to 23.3M filings in 2021; the 2022 rate shock cut it nearly in half. Keep that whiplash in mind for the next plate - the market's size moved violently, and the gap moved almost not at all.

0M 6M 12M 18M 24M 2018: 12,100,000 applications 12.1M 2018 2019: 15,100,000 applications 15.1M 2019 2020: 22,700,000 applications 22.7M 2020 2021: 23,300,000 applications 23.3M 2021 2022: 16,100,000 applications 16.1M 2022 2023: 12,400,000 applications 12.4M 2023 2024: 14,900,000 applications 14.9M 2024
Plate 10 · Illustrative All covered records filed under HMDA, every purpose and outcome - the universe the rest of this page samples from. Stand-in totals shaped to the published refi-boom-and-bust curve; the real series comes from counting rows per activity year.

The gap that won't close

Plate 11Denial rate by group · 2018 - 2024

The last plate is the stubborn one. Through the boom, the bust, and a five-point swing in mortgage rates, the oxblood Black line and the ink White line move in lockstep - the shaded distance between them was 10.4 points in 2018 and 10.7 points in 2024. Whatever moves this market, it is not closing the gap.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 2018201920202021202220232024 Black 16.8% Hispanic 12.3% Asian 9.2% White 6.1%
Plate 11 · Illustrative Denial rate on the comparable home-purchase slice, each line direct-labeled with its 2024 rate; the shaded band is the Black - White distance. Stand-in series shaped to the published year-over-year pattern.

Methodology

Notes on the Data

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires most lenders to report every mortgage application they receive. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FFIEC publish the pooled result each year as the CFPB HMDA Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (2024 activity year (Data Browser, 50 states + DC)): roughly 15 million application records a year from about 4,900 filing institutions, one row per application, ~99 columns each.

What's real, what's a stand-in

Most of this page is now computed straight from the real 2024 LAR. The denial map, the state spread, the by-group gap, the income bands, the metro leaderboard, the parity scatter, the loan-mix, the denial reasons, the outcome funnel, and the two-metro compare tool all come from a national extract of the CFPB Data Browser covering the 50 states and the District of Columbia - about 12.0 million covered records for the 2024 activity year (territories and a small share of records without a state are not included, so this runs a little under the ~15 million national total). Two plates stay Illustrative and remain badged as such: the gap over time (Plate 11) and the market volume by year (Plate 10), because both need several activity years and this ingest is a single year. Their shapes are anchored to published HMDA findings; the year values are not real, and we never present them as such.

One note on levels: the real 2024 rates here run higher than the widely cited figures from 2020-2023 (Black roughly 16.6%, White 5.8% on home purchase). 2024 was a high-rate, tight-credit year, and denial rates rose across every group. What holds steady is the shape - the roughly two-to-one Black-White ratio, the ordering of groups, and the persistence of the gap across income and geography.

How the denial reading is framed

The by-group, income-band, metro-gap, and parity readings use a single comparable slice - first-lien, owner-occupied, closed-end home-purchase applications, all loan types - so groups are read on like-for-like decisions rather than mixed against refinances and investment loans. The denial rate is denials divided by applications acted upon (originated, approved but not accepted, denied, withdrawn, or closed for incompleteness); purchased loans and preapproval-only requests are held out, matching the FFIEC's published definition. Race and ethnicity use HMDA's derived_race / derived_ethnicity single-value fields; Hispanic or Latino is counted by ethnicity across races. Income is HMDA's income field - the gross annual figure the lender relied on, reported in thousands - which is self-limiting: it says nothing about wealth, savings, or a co-signer's balance sheet, only about pay. American Indian and Pacific Islander groups carry small national samples, so their rates are noisier than the larger groups.

The product-mix reading

The two-markets plate widens the slice on purpose: it keeps every loan type (conventional, FHA, VA, RHS/FSA) and reads only originated home-purchase loans, because the reading is which product the market hands each group, not whether it says yes. FHA insurance exists to extend credit that conventional underwriting refuses - which is exactly why its share is the denial gap's quieter twin, and why it costs its borrowers more in premiums.

What you're not seeing

A denial rate is not proof of discrimination. HMDA does not include credit scores, full debt-to-income detail, or loan-to-value at the record level published here, so a raw gap cannot control for creditworthiness the way a lender's underwriting can. What HMDA does show is who applies, who is turned away, and where - the starting point for a fair-lending question, not its verdict. Preapproval-only requests, purchased loans, and business-purpose records are held out of the denial reading.

Generated 2026-07-10 15:01 UTC

Source: CFPB HMDA

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