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FHA loans by state: the rules are federal. Only three things are local.
Most "FHA loans in [your state]" pages exist to rank, not to tell you anything. Here is the honest version: FHA writes one rulebook for the whole country, and it applies identically in all fifty states. What actually changes where you live is your county loan limit, the down payment assistance you can stack on top, and which lenders hold a license to work with you.
2026 limits below come from HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23. Subject to eligibility and lender guidelines.
Credit score minimums. Down payment. DTI ratios. Waiting periods after bankruptcy or foreclosure. Manual underwriting rules. Appraisal standards.
Three things, and only these three:
- Your county's maximum loan amount
- State and local down payment assistance
- Which lenders are licensed in your state
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FHA does not have fifty rulebooks
FHA insures loans under one national policy document, HUD Handbook 4000.1. The minimum credit score, the 3.5% down payment, the debt-to-income ratios, the waiting period after a bankruptcy, what an appraiser has to flag on a property: all federal, all identical whether you are buying in Charleston or Cheyenne.
So when you read that a state has "special FHA requirements," be skeptical. Almost always one of three things is actually going on. The page is describing a county loan limit. It is describing a state housing agency's assistance program, which is not an FHA rule at all. Or it is describing a particular lender's overlay, which is that lender's own stricter policy layered on top of FHA's.
That last one matters most, because it is the one people mistake for law. If a lender in your state turns you down at a 600 score, FHA did not do that. FHA's own floor is lower, and a different lender in the same state may say yes on the identical file.
Your county loan limit, and the 2026 numbers
This is the real state-by-state variable. FHA sets limits by metropolitan area and county, based on local median house prices, and every county lands somewhere between a national floor and a national ceiling.
| Property | Low-cost floor | High-cost ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| One unit | $541,287 | $1,249,125 |
| Two units | $693,050 | $1,599,375 |
| Three units | $837,700 | $1,933,200 |
| Four units | $1,041,125 | $2,402,625 |
The floor is 65% of the national conforming limit of $832,750, and the ceiling is 150% of it. Most counties in most states sit at the floor. Expensive metros sit at or near the ceiling, and a good number of counties land somewhere in between.
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands get a higher ceiling to account for construction costs, topping out at $1,873,625 on a one-unit property. None of the states we are licensed in fall into that special-exception group.
Do not take a limit off any blog, including this one, when the number actually matters. Look up your own county on HUD's official county lookup, which is the live source, or browse HUD's Maximum Mortgage Limits page. The figures above are current for 2026 and will change in January.
Source: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, 2026 Nationwide Forward Mortgage Loan Limits, dated December 11, 2025, effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. Incorporated into Handbook 4000.1 at II.A.2.a.ii Nationwide Mortgage Limits. FHA also permits appeals to raise a high-cost area limit under II.A.2.a.ii(A) Requests for Local Increases.
Down payment assistance, which is not an FHA program
Every state runs a housing finance agency, and many counties and cities run their own programs on top. These offer grants, forgivable second mortgages, and below-market first mortgages, and they are frequently designed to pair with an FHA loan. This is where the genuinely state-specific money lives.
Two things worth knowing before you chase one. First, assistance programs come with their own eligibility rules, and those rules are often stricter than FHA's: income caps, purchase price caps, first-time buyer definitions, homebuyer education requirements, and minimum credit scores above FHA's floor. Second, not every lender is approved with every state agency, so the program you found may require a different lender than the one you started with.
Because these programs open, close, and run out of money on their own schedule, a static list on a web page is worse than useless. Ask about what is currently funded in your county when you are actually ready to buy.
Who is actually licensed to work with you
A mortgage broker has to hold a license in the state where the property sits. This is the quiet reason a lot of online searches dead-end.
Home Loans Inc is licensed in ten states. Each one has its own page with that state's county-by-county 2026 limits, its regulator and what is genuinely local there:
| State | Counties | 2026 limits | Highest one-unit limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 67 | all at the floor | $541,287 |
| Florida | 67 | 16 above the floor | $990,150 |
| Georgia | 159 | 34 above the floor | $718,750 |
| Iowa | 99 | all at the floor | $541,287 |
| Mississippi | 82 | all at the floor | $541,287 |
| North Carolina | 100 | 9 above the floor | $805,000 |
| South Carolina | 46 | 5 above the floor | $690,000 |
| Virginia | 133 | 54 above the floor | $1,249,125 |
| West Virginia | 55 | 1 above the floor | $1,249,125 |
| Wyoming | 23 | 2 above the floor | $1,249,125 |
South Carolina is home. The office is in North Charleston and a large share of our files are in the Lowcountry, which means the local appraisers, the flood-zone questions, and the county recording quirks are familiar territory rather than a research project.
If your property is outside those ten states, the education on this site still applies exactly the same way, because the rules are federal. You will just need a broker licensed where you are buying. Current license numbers and regulators are on our Licenses and Disclosures page, and you can verify any of it independently through NMLS Consumer Access.
What to actually check, in order
- Look up your county's limit on HUD's lookup tool. That tells you the ceiling on what you can borrow, which is a different question from what you qualify for.
- Work out what you qualify for against the federal rules, which do not care where you live. The requirements are the same list everywhere.
- Then ask about assistance in your county, once you know the first two numbers. Assistance changes the cash you need, not the approval.
- If you have already been declined, find out whether it was an FHA rule or a lender overlay. Most denials are the second kind, and the second kind is portable.
Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend or a quote. Loan limits cap the mortgage amount; they say nothing about your eligibility, which depends on the full file.
The questions that actually decide your file
FHA loan requirements
The federal list: score, down payment, ratios, and what a property has to pass. Identical in all ten states.
See the list →Your DTI was "too high"
The 43% most borrowers get quoted is a standard guideline, not a ceiling. Automated approvals run to 56.9% back-end.
See the ladder →A cosigned debt you never pay
FHA can take a cosigned payment off your ratios entirely, and a court order removes the 12-month waiting period.
See the rule →Why FHA loans get denied
Most denials are a lender's interpretation rather than an FHA verdict, which means they travel with you to the next lender.
See the reasons →What people ask about FHA and where they live
Are FHA loan requirements different in each state?
No. FHA insures loans under one national policy document, HUD Handbook 4000.1, and the credit, down payment, debt-to-income, waiting-period and appraisal rules are identical in every state. What varies locally is your county's maximum loan amount, the down payment assistance programs available to you, and which lenders hold a license in your state.
What is the FHA loan limit for 2026?
For a one-unit property the national low-cost floor is $541,287 and the high-cost ceiling is $1,249,125, per HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. Your actual limit is set by county and sits somewhere between those two figures, so look your county up on HUD's official tool rather than relying on a national number.
Why does one lender say no and another says yes in the same state?
Because lenders add overlays, meaning their own requirements layered on top of FHA's. An overlay is that lender's policy, not federal rule, so the same file can be declined at one lender and approved at another in the same state. Knowing which one you hit is the difference between giving up and moving the file.
Does down payment assistance come from FHA?
No. Assistance programs are run by state housing finance agencies and by counties and cities, and they are designed to pair with an FHA loan rather than being part of it. They carry their own eligibility rules, which are often stricter than FHA's, including income and purchase price caps and sometimes a higher minimum credit score.
Which states does Home Loans Inc work in?
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. South Carolina is home, with the office in North Charleston. If your property is elsewhere the education on this site still applies, because FHA rules are federal, but you will need a broker licensed in that state.
Let's re-run your math the right way.
Bring the denial. In one call we recount your debts under the actual FHA rules, find the levers, and tell you whether the fix is paperwork, a payoff, or a few months of plan.
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