Mortgage Approval and Denial Rates in North Dakota (2025 HMDA)
Mortgage denial rates in North Dakota: lenders acted on 20,523 mortgage applications in North Dakota in 2025 and denied 11.4% of them, up from 11.3% in 2024. The national denial rate was 17.7%.
Applications acted on
20,523
Loans originated
14,322
Denial rate
11.4%
Median loan
$205,000
North Dakota against the national picture
Most-reported denial reason in North Dakota: Debt-to-income ratio.
Counties ranked by denial rate
| County | Applications | Denial rate | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walsh County | 202 | 20.3% | $125,000 |
| McKenzie County | 409 | 18.6% | $305,000 |
| Williams County | 1,152 | 17.3% | $265,000 |
| Ramsey County | 246 | 17.1% | $175,000 |
| Richland County | 464 | 15.9% | $135,000 |
| Stutsman County | 572 | 15.7% | $125,000 |
| Stark County | 1,092 | 14.1% | $225,000 |
| McLean County | 247 | 13.0% | $175,000 |
| Mountrail County | 150 | 11.3% | $185,000 |
| Bottineau County | 133 | 11.3% | $175,000 |
| Traill County | 217 | 11.1% | $165,000 |
| Pembina County | 113 | 10.6% | $125,000 |
| Morton County | 1,072 | 10.4% | $185,000 |
| Ward County | 1,951 | 9.7% | $205,000 |
| Grand Forks County | 1,705 | 9.4% | $205,000 |
| Cass County | 5,676 | 9.3% | $225,000 |
| Burleigh County | 2,980 | 9.0% | $215,000 |
| Barnes County | 223 | 8.1% | $135,000 |
| Mercer County | 191 | 7.9% | $165,000 |
Find out what you'd be approved for in North Dakota
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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The denial rate counts applications the lender acted on, so withdrawn files do not inflate it.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.