Original research · Reproducible
2026 Conforming Loan Limits: Statistics From All 3,235 Counties and County Equivalents
The FHFA 2026 County Loan Limit List covers every US county, DC, Puerto Rico, and the special statutory jurisdictions (Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands). Every number below is computed deterministically from the official Full County Loan Limit List 2026 (HERA-Based Final Flat) published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (retrieved 2026-07-29, SHA-256 3e4aa578ce0d…). No population weighting, borrower data, rate quote, or eligibility decision appears here. The raw file is redistributed unchanged at /data/2026-conforming-loan-limits.csv and /data/2026-conforming-loan-limits.json.
Headline findings
- Total county and county-equivalent rows3,235
- Jurisdictions covered56
- Unique CBSAs represented935
- Standard national one-unit baseline$832,750
- Special statutory one-unit baseline (AK, HI, GU, VI)$1,249,125
- National high-cost one-unit ceiling (statutory)$1,249,125
- Special statutory one-unit ceiling (AK, HI, GU, VI)$1,873,675
- Highest one-unit value observed in the county file$1,299,500
- High-cost rows123 (3.8%)
- Standard-baseline rows3,075 (95.1%)
- Special-baseline rows37 (1.1%)
The observed maximum in the county file ($1,299,500) is simply the largest one-unit value FHFA published for any county this year. It is not a statutory ceiling. The 2026 statutory ceilings are $1,249,125 for one-unit properties in high-cost areas of the contiguous states, DC, and Puerto Rico, and $1,873,675 for one-unit properties in the special statutory jurisdictions (AK, HI, GU, VI).
Distribution of the 2026 one-unit limit
Rows are grouped by how the one-unit limit compares to the standard national baseline of $832,750. Buckets are mutually exclusive and sum to 3,235.
| Bucket | Rows | Share | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| At or below the standard national baseline | 3,075 | 95.05% | |
| Above baseline, up to +25% | 46 | 1.42% | |
| +25% to +50% above baseline | 112 | 3.46% | |
| Above +50% of baseline, below the observed county-file maximum | 0 | 0.00% | |
| At the observed county-file maximum (1,299,500) | 2 | 0.06% |
Unit-tier multiples at the standard baseline
| Units | 2026 limit | Ratio to 1-unit |
|---|---|---|
| 1-unit | $832,750 | 1.000 |
| 2-unit | $1,066,250 | 1.280 |
| 3-unit | $1,288,800 | 1.548 |
| 4-unit | $1,601,750 | 1.923 |
Jurisdictions with the highest share of high-cost counties
High-cost share = high-cost rows ÷ total rows in the jurisdiction. Special statutory-baseline rows in AK, HI, GU, and VI are not counted as high-cost.
| Jurisdiction | High-cost rows | Total rows | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| New Jersey | 12 | 21 | 57.1% |
| Massachusetts | 7 | 14 | 50.0% |
| Hawaii | 2 | 5 | 40.0% |
| Connecticut | 3 | 9 | 33.3% |
| Colorado | 20 | 64 | 31.3% |
| California | 17 | 58 | 29.3% |
| Maryland | 5 | 24 | 20.8% |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 10 | 20.0% |
| New York | 10 | 62 | 16.1% |
37 jurisdictions have zero high-cost rows; 1 have every row classified as high-cost.
Methodology
- Load the FHFA 2026 County Loan Limit List CSV (checksum recorded above) and preserve every numeric value exactly.
- Classify each row as standard-baseline if the one-unit limit equals the national baseline; special-baseline if the row is in AK/HI/GU/VI at the special statutory one-unit baseline; otherwise high-cost.
- Reduce classifications, jurisdiction counts, and distribution buckets over the full 3,235-row table.
- Unit-tier multiples are read from a canonical standard-baseline row; the ratios apply to any row at the standard baseline.
- Automated tests re-run the reduction against the raw dataset on every build.
See the methodology page for source hierarchy, update cadence, and correction workflow.
Download and cite the dataset
We publish a first-party redistribution of the Full County Loan Limit List 2026 (HERA-Based Final Flat) for analysts, journalists, and developers. It is the same official dataset (3,235 counties/equivalents) with numeric values preserved exactly — not a separate or modified dataset.
- 2026-conforming-loan-limits.csv — CSV, 3,235 rows, UTF-8, stable header
- 2026-conforming-loan-limits.json — JSON, 3,235 rows plus source metadata
- Official source
- FHFA.gov (Federal Housing Finance Agency)
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-29
- Row count
- 3,235
- Official CSV SHA-256
3e4aa578ce0db02db241e2721362e978b097fad70e1532324e0d30a798dd67a8
CSV header: fips_state,fips_county,state,county_name,cbsa,limit_1_unit,limit_2_units,limit_3_units,limit_4_units. Cite the FHFA as the primary source; a link back to conventional.loans is appreciated but not required.