Mortgage Approval and Denial Rates in North Carolina (2025 HMDA)
Mortgage denial rates in North Carolina: lenders acted on 483,559 mortgage applications in North Carolina in 2025 and denied 18.0% of them, down from 19.2% in 2024. The national denial rate was 17.7%.
Applications acted on
483,559
Loans originated
279,735
Denial rate
18.0%
Median loan
$225,000
North Carolina against the national picture
Most-reported denial reason in North Carolina: Debt-to-income ratio.
Counties ranked by denial rate
| County | Applications | Denial rate | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyde County | 157 | 34.4% | $145,000 |
| Hertford County | 478 | 32.8% | $125,000 |
| Washington County | 311 | 32.8% | $125,000 |
| Bertie County | 413 | 31.2% | $125,000 |
| Robeson County | 3,576 | 29.9% | $145,000 |
| Richmond County | 1,333 | 29.0% | $125,000 |
| Martin County | 687 | 28.8% | $115,000 |
| Halifax County | 1,311 | 28.7% | $115,000 |
| Bladen County | 977 | 28.4% | $145,000 |
| Columbus County | 1,879 | 28.3% | $145,000 |
| Northampton County | 531 | 28.2% | $115,000 |
| Edgecombe County | 1,522 | 27.5% | $125,000 |
| Scotland County | 1,127 | 27.3% | $135,000 |
| Tyrrell County | 104 | 26.9% | $125,000 |
| Vance County | 1,274 | 26.7% | $155,000 |
| Warren County | 791 | 26.5% | $155,000 |
| Duplin County | 1,534 | 26.1% | $155,000 |
| Mitchell County | 542 | 26.0% | $180,000 |
| Anson County | 663 | 25.6% | $155,000 |
| Sampson County | 1,975 | 25.3% | $155,000 |
| Caswell County | 773 | 25.0% | $155,000 |
| Greene County | 440 | 25.0% | $135,000 |
| Jones County | 400 | 25.0% | $175,000 |
| Lenoir County | 1,905 | 24.7% | $135,000 |
| Madison County | 818 | 24.3% | $210,000 |
| Nash County | 4,463 | 23.5% | $185,000 |
| Rockingham County | 4,275 | 23.3% | $155,000 |
| Rutherford County | 2,665 | 23.3% | $165,000 |
| Swain County | 547 | 22.7% | $205,000 |
| Cleveland County | 4,618 | 22.6% | $155,000 |
| Wilkes County | 2,132 | 22.3% | $155,000 |
| Montgomery County | 1,024 | 21.6% | $175,000 |
| Randolph County | 5,678 | 21.5% | $165,000 |
| Yancey County | 680 | 21.5% | $185,000 |
| Stokes County | 2,134 | 21.4% | $165,000 |
| Wayne County | 4,918 | 21.3% | $185,000 |
| McDowell County | 1,706 | 21.2% | $185,000 |
| Cherokee County | 1,517 | 21.0% | $185,000 |
| Graham County | 287 | 20.9% | $165,000 |
| Burke County | 3,388 | 20.7% | $165,000 |
| Granville County | 2,633 | 20.7% | $215,000 |
| Person County | 1,712 | 20.7% | $185,000 |
| Guilford County | 20,695 | 20.6% | $175,000 |
| Wilson County | 3,031 | 20.6% | $175,000 |
| Clay County | 528 | 20.6% | $195,000 |
| Beaufort County | 1,672 | 20.2% | $155,000 |
| Yadkin County | 1,322 | 20.0% | $145,000 |
| Alleghany County | 464 | 20.0% | $175,000 |
| Gates County | 385 | 20.0% | $195,000 |
| Alamance County | 8,187 | 19.9% | $205,000 |
| Pamlico County | 618 | 19.9% | $205,000 |
| Pitt County | 6,942 | 19.4% | $175,000 |
| Surry County | 2,494 | 19.3% | $155,000 |
| Jackson County | 1,561 | 19.2% | $245,000 |
| Ashe County | 1,103 | 19.2% | $175,000 |
| Pasquotank County | 2,302 | 19.1% | $225,000 |
| Polk County | 916 | 19.1% | $210,000 |
| Caldwell County | 3,316 | 19.0% | $155,000 |
| Rowan County | 7,000 | 18.9% | $195,000 |
| Gaston County | 12,380 | 18.8% | $215,000 |
| Davidson County | 8,308 | 18.8% | $175,000 |
| Franklin County | 4,236 | 18.7% | $245,000 |
| Perquimans County | 742 | 18.5% | $205,000 |
| Alexander County | 1,252 | 18.4% | $175,000 |
| Cumberland County | 16,254 | 18.3% | $205,000 |
| Chowan County | 595 | 18.3% | $175,000 |
| Macon County | 1,744 | 18.1% | $205,000 |
| Forsyth County | 16,248 | 18.0% | $185,000 |
| Buncombe County | 9,739 | 18.0% | $265,000 |
| Stanly County | 3,273 | 17.9% | $195,000 |
| Haywood County | 2,958 | 17.6% | $235,000 |
| Lincoln County | 4,896 | 17.5% | $225,000 |
| Transylvania County | 1,285 | 17.5% | $245,000 |
| Henderson County | 5,282 | 17.4% | $245,000 |
| Davie County | 2,197 | 17.3% | $185,000 |
| Craven County | 5,296 | 17.1% | $205,000 |
| Avery County | 914 | 17.1% | $235,000 |
| Mecklenburg County | 49,189 | 17.0% | $285,000 |
| Iredell County | 10,560 | 16.9% | $245,000 |
| Camden County | 723 | 16.9% | $315,000 |
| Pender County | 4,430 | 16.8% | $275,000 |
| Carteret County | 4,058 | 16.7% | $255,000 |
| Lee County | 3,011 | 16.6% | $235,000 |
| Union County | 13,724 | 16.5% | $295,000 |
| Catawba County | 8,127 | 16.5% | $205,000 |
| Cabarrus County | 11,946 | 16.4% | $255,000 |
| Johnston County | 13,161 | 16.2% | $245,000 |
| Durham County | 12,559 | 15.6% | $275,000 |
| New Hanover County | 10,722 | 15.6% | $265,000 |
| Brunswick County | 13,284 | 15.5% | $245,000 |
| Watauga County | 1,932 | 15.5% | $305,000 |
| Harnett County | 9,267 | 15.2% | $265,000 |
| Wake County | 51,496 | 15.1% | $305,000 |
| Dare County | 2,955 | 15.1% | $335,000 |
| Orange County | 4,614 | 15.0% | $265,000 |
| Chatham County | 3,509 | 14.4% | $285,000 |
| Hoke County | 3,779 | 14.2% | $275,000 |
| Onslow County | 12,081 | 14.1% | $245,000 |
| Moore County | 5,882 | 13.6% | $305,000 |
| Currituck County | 2,517 | 13.5% | $345,000 |
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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.