Mortgage Approval and Denial Rates in South Carolina (2025 HMDA)
Mortgage denial rates in South Carolina: lenders acted on 251,261 mortgage applications in South Carolina in 2025 and denied 18.2% of them, down from 19.9% in 2024. The national denial rate was 17.7%.
Applications acted on
251,261
Loans originated
142,410
Denial rate
18.2%
Median loan
$225,000
South Carolina against the national picture
Most-reported denial reason in South Carolina: Credit history.
Counties ranked by denial rate
| County | Applications | Denial rate | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allendale County | 159 | 42.1% | $115,000 |
| Hampton County | 647 | 38.6% | $135,000 |
| Bamberg County | 353 | 36.8% | $115,000 |
| Orangeburg County | 3,551 | 35.2% | $135,000 |
| Williamsburg County | 720 | 35.0% | $125,000 |
| Lee County | 427 | 33.7% | $125,000 |
| Dillon County | 824 | 31.8% | $125,000 |
| Barnwell County | 604 | 31.1% | $135,000 |
| Colleton County | 1,715 | 30.7% | $165,000 |
| Marlboro County | 534 | 30.7% | $115,000 |
| Marion County | 928 | 30.2% | $125,000 |
| Darlington County | 1,948 | 26.0% | $145,000 |
| Chesterfield County | 1,384 | 25.7% | $145,000 |
| Abbeville County | 797 | 25.2% | $145,000 |
| Calhoun County | 514 | 25.1% | $165,000 |
| Clarendon County | 1,075 | 24.7% | $155,000 |
| Chester County | 1,595 | 24.2% | $205,000 |
| Laurens County | 3,270 | 24.0% | $185,000 |
| Florence County | 4,746 | 23.9% | $165,000 |
| Fairfield County | 787 | 23.8% | $155,000 |
| Union County | 842 | 22.9% | $145,000 |
| Saluda County | 523 | 22.4% | $175,000 |
| Cherokee County | 1,923 | 21.8% | $165,000 |
| Newberry County | 1,230 | 21.6% | $155,000 |
| McCormick County | 409 | 20.3% | $185,000 |
| Jasper County | 2,880 | 20.1% | $265,000 |
| Georgetown County | 2,715 | 19.8% | $215,000 |
| Sumter County | 3,931 | 19.4% | $185,000 |
| Greenwood County | 2,243 | 19.0% | $165,000 |
| Kershaw County | 3,194 | 18.7% | $215,000 |
| Oconee County | 3,434 | 17.9% | $205,000 |
| Beaufort County | 11,247 | 17.8% | $305,000 |
| Horry County | 25,923 | 17.7% | $225,000 |
| Spartanburg County | 18,136 | 17.7% | $215,000 |
| Pickens County | 5,118 | 17.6% | $205,000 |
| Anderson County | 9,361 | 17.3% | $195,000 |
| Aiken County | 8,084 | 17.3% | $205,000 |
| Richland County | 18,621 | 17.1% | $215,000 |
| Dorchester County | 9,932 | 17.0% | $285,000 |
| Edgefield County | 1,122 | 16.9% | $205,000 |
| Greenville County | 23,446 | 16.5% | $235,000 |
| Lancaster County | 5,964 | 16.5% | $255,000 |
| Lexington County | 14,548 | 16.1% | $205,000 |
| Berkeley County | 15,368 | 15.9% | $305,000 |
| Charleston County | 19,737 | 15.6% | $325,000 |
| York County | 14,752 | 15.4% | $255,000 |
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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.