2025 federal record
FHA denial rate in District of Columbia: 29.6%
Of the 722 FHA applications that reached a credit decision in District of Columbia in 2025, 214 were denied. That is above the national rate of 22.1%, and ranks #51 of 52 jurisdictions from softest to hardest.
Metro areas in District of Columbia
| Metro | Decisioned apps | Denial rate | Spread between its doors |
|---|
| Washington, DC-MD | 8,088 | 26.7% | 17.3 pts |
What actually moves the odds
Geography sets the backdrop; the lender sets the outcome. Across the 100 largest FHA lenders nationally, 2025 denial rates ran from 1.8% to 78.7% — a 44× spread inside one federal program, far wider than any difference between states. If you have been denied, the record about doors is the useful place to look next.
All 100 lenders →
The Denial Map →
All states compared →
Source: CFPB HMDA 2025 Snapshot, processed by FinanceRateCalc. Universe: decisioned FHA applications (loan_type 2; action_taken 1, 2, 3); denial = action 3. Small <$150K, large ≥$250K, minimum 100 applications per cell. Denial rates partly reflect applicant mix; historical observation, not a prediction about any individual application and not evidence of wrongdoing. Free · no ads · no lender pays us · CC BY 4.0.
The Denial Dispatch
One finding a week from the federal mortgage record.
One chart, three paragraphs, every Saturday. Measured, not assumed.
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