Methodology & data sources
Transparency is the point of this site. This page documents exactly where the data comes from, the reporting year it covers, every figure we derive, and the limits you should keep in mind.
Informational, not financial or lending advice. RateLedger is not a lender, broker or adviser. Nothing here is a rate quote or a recommendation. Mortgage decisions are high-stakes — always verify figures with the primary sources and a licensed lender before acting.
Data sources
| Source | Used for | License |
|---|---|---|
| HMDA Data Browser (FFIEC / CFPB) | State lending counts | Public domain (U.S. Government work) |
| Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) | National rate snapshot | © Freddie Mac, used as a dated factual snapshot |
HMDA: what we pull, and how
All state lending figures are real loan/application counts from the HMDA Data Browser (FFIEC / CFPB), 2023 reporting year, a U.S. Government public-domain work. For each of the 51 states (plus DC) we query the aggregations API by state and:
- Action taken: code 1 = originated, code 3 = denied (we also note 2 approved-not-accepted, 4 withdrawn, 5 incomplete, which we exclude from rate denominators).
- Loan purpose: 1 = home purchase, 31 = refinance, 32 = cash-out refinance (we combine 31+32 as "refinance").
- Loan type: 1 = conventional, 2 = FHA, 3 = VA, 4 = USDA/RHS.
"Originations" on this site is the sum of originated home-purchase and refinance loans (the purposes we query). The loan-type counts are originations across all purposes with a reported type, which is why the loan-type total can differ slightly from the purchase+refinance total. If a state's API calls fail or return no data, that state is omitted rather than estimated. For the 2023 year, all 51 states returned data — none were omitted.
The figures we derive
Every derived number is a plain calculation over the real counts above:
- Denial rate = denied ÷ (originated + denied), as a percentage. Withdrawn and incomplete applications are excluded so the rate reflects decided applications. We compute this overall and separately for home-purchase and refinance.
- Loan-type share = a type's originations ÷ total typed originations. Shares may not sum to exactly 100% due to rounding.
- Ranks = the state's position when all 51 are sorted by the metric (1 = highest).
- National figures = sums across all states; e.g. roughly 4,520,188 originations and a 19.6% denial rate in 2023.
Mortgage rates (national only)
We do not publish state-level average mortgage rates, because no free, reliable source provides them cleanly — inventing them would violate our no-fabrication rule. Instead the rates page shows the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) national averages as a clearly-dated snapshot: 30-year fixed 6.47% and 15-year fixed 5.81% as of June 18, 2026. Rates change weekly — always check the official PMMS page for the current week.
The calculator formula
The mortgage calculator uses the standard fixed-rate amortization formula, entirely in your browser:
M = P × r(1+r)n ÷ ((1+r)n − 1)
P = loan principal (home price − down payment), r = monthly rate (APR ÷ 12), n = months (years × 12). The affordability tool inverts the same formula to solve for the largest principal a monthly budget supports. Results are principal and interest only — they exclude property tax, homeowner's insurance, HOA dues and mortgage insurance (PMI/MIP), so treat them as estimates.
Limitations
- HMDA shows what happened, not always why — it omits credit scores and full underwriting detail, so a high denial rate is not proof of discrimination or strict lenders on its own.
- HMDA is reported annually with a lag, so the 2023 year is the latest complete data, not today's market.
- Rate figures are a dated weekly snapshot and will be stale between refreshes.
- Everything here is informational; verify against the primary source and a licensed lender.
Data as of June 2026. See our disclaimer.
Last updated: 2026-06-20