Mortgage Approval and Denial Rates in New Jersey (2025 HMDA)
Mortgage denial rates in New Jersey: lenders acted on 318,123 mortgage applications in New Jersey in 2025 and denied 17.6% of them, down from 20.2% in 2024. The national denial rate was 17.7%.
Applications acted on
318,123
Loans originated
177,325
Denial rate
17.6%
Median loan
$295,000
New Jersey against the national picture
Most-reported denial reason in New Jersey: Debt-to-income ratio.
Counties ranked by denial rate
| County | Applications | Denial rate | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County | 5,180 | 20.2% | $185,000 |
| Passaic County | 13,480 | 20.1% | $335,000 |
| Essex County | 22,893 | 19.3% | $405,000 |
| Hudson County | 13,850 | 18.9% | $445,000 |
| Atlantic County | 11,422 | 18.8% | $205,000 |
| Union County | 16,313 | 18.7% | $385,000 |
| Camden County | 20,996 | 18.6% | $205,000 |
| Middlesex County | 26,106 | 18.3% | $315,000 |
| Bergen County | 28,683 | 18.1% | $385,000 |
| Gloucester County | 13,723 | 17.7% | $215,000 |
| Warren County | 4,814 | 17.4% | $235,000 |
| Burlington County | 20,599 | 17.3% | $235,000 |
| Salem County | 2,914 | 17.3% | $185,000 |
| Sussex County | 7,399 | 16.7% | $255,000 |
| Ocean County | 29,345 | 16.5% | $265,000 |
| Monmouth County | 26,398 | 16.4% | $355,000 |
| Mercer County | 12,900 | 16.4% | $255,000 |
| Cape May County | 6,708 | 15.6% | $335,000 |
| Somerset County | 11,568 | 15.5% | $345,000 |
| Hunterdon County | 4,959 | 15.2% | $285,000 |
| Morris County | 17,873 | 14.8% | $365,000 |
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Reading these numbers
The denial rate counts applications the lender acted on, so withdrawn files do not inflate it. A high rate does not automatically mean strict lenders: counties with many first-time or lower-income applicants tend to show higher denial rates because of debt-to-income and credit-history thresholds, which are the two reasons lenders report most often. Median loan amount and median applicant income are computed from the same application records, so they describe who is applying — not who ends up buying.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, HMDA Data Browser (2025 loan application register). Latest observation 2026-08-23.