Howard County
Indiana · FIPS 18067
According to CFPB HMDA 2024 application volume among U.S. counties, Howard County ranks #581 of 3,210, and #19 of 92 in Indiana.
Mortgage lending activity in Howard County, Indiana based on lender filings under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Data covers all applications received by HMDA-reporting institutions operating in this county during 2024. Why mortgages get denied walks the denial-reason codes that appear in books like this one.
Local mortgage market. Howard County, Indiana saw 4,070 HMDA-reported mortgage applications in 2024. Lenders originated 2,249 of those loans and denied 593, producing a denial rate of 14.6% and an approval (origination) rate of 55.3%. The average loan amount was $144,651 at an average note rate of 7.38%, with applicants self-reporting average annual income of $36K. 196 distinct institutions reported mortgage activity in this county.
Borrower leverage and affordability signal. The loan-to-income ratio averages 4.0x, meaning typical borrowers took on mortgages of about 4.0 times their annual income. That ratio is a rough affordability signal: higher multiples imply tighter monthly budgets and greater exposure to rate or income shocks. See our methodology for how to read the denial rate against a local applicant pool. This page is informational data reporting, not financial, legal, or mortgage advice.
Lender concentration in Howard County
In Howard County, lead originator Ruoff Mortgage Company funded only 6.8% of 2,249 originated loans, below the county fleet's lower tercile (~10.9% top-1 share). The top three reporters together hold 18.4% of the book, so shopping across channels still meets many active filers.
Counties With Similar Application Volume
Nationwide counties nearest to Howard County's 4,070 HMDA applications.
Counties With a Similar Average Loan
Nationwide counties nearest to Howard County's $144,651 average loan (deduped against volume peers).
Lenders active in Howard County
Ruoff Mortgage Company funded 153 of the 2,249 loans originated in Howard County, 6.8% of the county. 196 lenders reported activity here.
| # | Lender | Originated | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruoff Mortgage Company | 153 | 6.8% |
| 2 | First Farmers Bank & Trust | 139 | 6.2% |
| 3 | Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union | 121 | 5.4% |
| 4 | Gvc Mortgage, INC. | 114 | 5.1% |
| 5 | Rocket Mortgage | 109 | 4.8% |
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) 2024. County FIPS codes per U.S. Census Bureau standards.
Data from FFIEC / CFPB HMDA Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (2024). Provided for informational purposes only; does not constitute financial advice for Howard County borrowers.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainLender is rendered directly from CFPB HMDA federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This Howard County page draws directly on CFPB HMDA federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-10. HMDA figures are lender-filed application outcomes for a published reporting year - not creditworthiness scores, rate quotes, Loan Estimates, underwriting decisions, or mortgage advice.