FHA Loan Limits by County for a Home Purchase

The Quick Read: Every county has its own cap on how much FHA will insure for a home purchase, and the cap changes each calendar year. Most counties sit at a national floor. Higher-cost counties get a larger number, up to a national ceiling. The cap limits the loan amount, not the price you can pay, and your appraisal can lower the loan even when the county cap is not the problem.

What Is an FHA Loan Limit?

An FHA loan limit is the largest base loan amount FHA will insure in a given county. FHA does not lend the money. It insures loans made by approved lenders. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, so it arranges FHA loans through wholesale lenders and does not lend.

Think of the limit as a ceiling on the loan, set by where the home sits. A home in a lower-cost county has the same cap as thousands of other lower-cost counties. A home in an expensive coastal county may have a much higher one.

The limit sits on top of the usual FHA terms. Across the wholesale programs Lendmire places FHA files with, the purchase structure is simple. Maximum financing is 96.5%, with a 3.5% minimum investment at a decision score of 580 or higher. The home must be your principal residence, and one to four units are allowed. All of it is subject to lender guidelines and full file review. The FHA loan programs page covers the full set.

How Does FHA Set the Limit for Each County?

FHA starts with the conforming loan limit, the baseline the federal housing finance regulator publishes each fall. It then applies fixed percentages to that baseline. Per Scotsman Guide’s coverage of the annual update, the floor is 65% of the baseline and the ceiling is 150%. Counties between those two points are set at 115% of the area’s median home price.

That formula explains the shape of the map:

• Most counties sit at the floor. Median prices there are not high enough to push the 115% figure above it.
• High-cost counties land between the floor and the ceiling. Many expensive markets fall here, not at the top.
• A small group sits at the ceiling. These are the most expensive markets in the mainland states.
• Metro areas can follow their most expensive county. Check the lookup before assuming a nearby county shares your number.

I am not printing county dollar figures here on purpose. They reset every year, and a number in an article goes stale. The lookup tool below is the only source worth trusting for yours.

How Do You Look Up Your County’s Limit?

Use HUD’s official lookup, and run it before you fall in love with a house. Here is the process:

1. Open the HUD FHA mortgage limits lookup.

2. Pick the state and the county, or the metro area.

3. Select the FHA forward mortgage program for a standard purchase.

4. Read the figure for your unit count: one, two, three, or four units.

5. Confirm the year shown matches the year your case number will be assigned.

HUD also posts downloadable files with every county’s limits. Those help if you are comparing several counties at once. The HUD single-family lender page links to the annual notice that lists the limits and the rules around them.

If a lender quotes a different figure than the lookup shows, ask why. A lookup tool beats an article, a blog, or a memory every time.

The Limit Is Only One of Two Tests

Your maximum loan is the lesser of two numbers: the county limit, or 96.5% of the home’s adjusted value. Most buyers assume the county limit is the whole story. In practice, the second test decides many files.

Adjusted value is the lesser of two things: the purchase price (less any seller inducements) or the appraised value. The lender orders an FHA appraisal, and its number feeds directly into your loan. Per the HUD handbook that governs FHA lending, Handbook 4000.1, the lesser-of rule drives the maximum on purchase loans.

Picture a buyer whose contract price is 5% above the appraised value. The county limit is nowhere near the loan. The adjusted value is the appraisal, and the loan is 96.5% of that lower figure. The buyer covers the gap between price and appraisal in cash, on top of the 3.5% minimum investment. Same house, same county, bigger check at closing.

Appraisals also surface repairs. If the home needs work, that can complicate the file. Lendmire’s piece How to Keep an FHA Purchase on Schedule When the Home Needs Repairs walks through how that plays out.

How Mortgage Insurance Fits the Limit

Mortgage insurance is required on every FHA loan, and the CFPB’s toolkit describes FHA as a 3.5% down payment program. The insurance protects the lender, not you. You still pay for it. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.

Here is how it works on the programs Lendmire places. There is an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan, which is typically financed into the loan. There is also an annual premium between 0.15% and 0.75% of the balance, depending on term, loan amount, and LTV. On a thirty-year loan above 90% LTV, the annual premium lasts for the term. At or below 90% LTV, it ends after eleven years.

The county limit applies to the base loan. The financed upfront premium is typically added on top of it, so a loan near the cap does not automatically fail because of the premium. Your lender will show the exact structure on the Loan Estimate.

Key Terms Defined

Base loan amount: The loan before the financed upfront premium is added. This is the figure compared to the county limit.

Adjusted value: For a purchase, the lesser of the price (less inducements) or the appraised value. It drives the 96.5% test.

Floor and ceiling: The lowest and highest FHA limits a county can receive. They are tied to fixed percentages of the conforming baseline.

Case number: The FHA identifier a lender assigns to your file. Its assignment date decides which year’s limits apply.

Special exception area: A place with higher construction costs where limits run above the usual ceiling.

Where the General Rule Breaks

The county map is not the whole picture. A few situations change the answer.

Multi-unit homes. A duplex, triplex, or fourplex carries a larger limit than a single-family home. You must live in one unit as your principal residence. Use the lookup for your county’s exact unit-by-unit figure.

Special exception areas. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have limits adjusted for higher building costs. Per HUD’s annual limits notice, those ceilings sit above the mainland ceiling. HUD’s figure for FHA also differs slightly from the conforming figure, so do not borrow one for the other.

Refinances. The 96.5% purchase test does not carry over. Refinance leverage depends on the type of refinance and how long you have owned and lived in the home. Purchase math belongs to purchases.

Second homes and rentals. FHA is for your principal residence, and occupancy decides the leverage. That is the whole answer for this article.

HECM reverse mortgages. These use their own limit, set in a separate notice. Do not mix it up with the forward mortgage limits discussed here.

What If the Home Costs More Than the Limit?

FHA is not automatically off the table. The limit caps the loan, so you have options. None is free.

• Bring more cash. You pay the difference between the price and the capped loan. This works when your savings can absorb it.
• Negotiate the price. A price closer to the limit-and-LTV math shrinks the cash gap. Sellers sometimes agree, especially after a low appraisal.
• Look at a different loan type. A conventional or jumbo loan has different caps and requirements. A broker can compare them against your file.
• Look at a different location. A home in the next county may sit under a different limit. Check the lookup before you assume.

The right choice depends on your cash, your credit, and how much you want the specific house. Run both tests first, then decide. A good loan officer will do this with you before you make an offer, not after.

Which Year’s Limit Applies to You?

The date your lender assigns the FHA case number decides it. It does not matter when you close. HUD’s notice states that each year’s limits apply to case numbers assigned on or after January 1 of that year. A buyer whose case number is assigned in December follows the old limits. Limits reset every calendar year, so check HUD for the year of your case number.

The federal housing finance regulator announces new conforming baselines each November, per HousingWire’s report. HUD then publishes the FHA limits by notice in December. That gap is when buyers get confused. If you are shopping in late fall, ask your loan officer which year’s limits your file will fall under.

Five Misconceptions That Cost Buyers Time

1. “One FHA limit applies nationwide.” It varies by county.

2. “The limit is the price I can pay.” It caps the loan. Cash covers the rest.

3. “The closing date decides the year.” The case number date does.

4. “FHA limits match conforming limits.” FHA uses its own HUD-set figures. The ceilings match on the mainland only, and the floor is lower.

5. “Mortgage insurance protects me.” It protects the lender.

Where This Leaves You

Start with the lookup, then run both tests. County limit first, then 96.5% of adjusted value. Whichever is lower sets your loan, and the gap is your cash. Add the 3.5% minimum investment and the mortgage insurance, and you have an honest picture of what an FHA purchase asks of you.

If you are buying a home and want to see whether an FHA loan fits your file, Lendmire can help you compare the options and what each one asks of the file. Every program detail here is subject to lender guidelines and full file review, and none of it is a commitment to lend.

For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.

About Lendmire

Lendmire — NMLS# 2371349 — is a mortgage broker that arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo home purchase and refinance financing in 16 states through wholesale lenders. Every option is subject to the lender’s guidelines and full underwriting.

Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2026.

References

1. Scotsman Guide’s coverage of the annual update

2. HUD FHA Mortgage Limits Lookup

3. HUD FHA Lenders Single Family: Maximum Mortgage Limits

4. CFPB Your Home Loan Toolkit

5. HUD Mortgagee Letter on nationwide forward mortgage limits

6. HousingWire – 2026 conforming limit