Howard County
Maryland · FIPS 24027
According to CFPB HMDA 2024 application volume among U.S. counties, Howard County ranks #268 of 3,210, and #7 of 24 in Maryland.
Mortgage lending activity in Howard County, Maryland 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, Maryland saw 11,029 HMDA-reported mortgage applications in 2024. Lenders originated 5,892 of those loans and denied 1,777, producing a denial rate of 16.1% and an approval (origination) rate of 53.4%. The average loan amount was $423,231 at an average note rate of 7.16%, with applicants self-reporting average annual income of $37K. 339 distinct institutions reported mortgage activity in this county.
Borrower leverage and affordability signal. The loan-to-income ratio averages 11.4x, meaning typical borrowers took on mortgages of about 11.4 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 Rocket Mortgage funded only 6.6% of 5,892 originated loans, below the county fleet's lower tercile (~10.9% top-1 share). The top three reporters together hold 14.6% of the book, so shopping across channels still meets many active filers.
Counties With Similar Application Volume
Nationwide counties nearest to Howard County's 11,029 HMDA applications.
Counties With a Similar Average Loan
Nationwide counties nearest to Howard County's $423,231 average loan (deduped against volume peers).
Lenders active in Howard County
Rocket Mortgage funded 388 of the 5,892 loans originated in Howard County, 6.6% of the county. 339 lenders reported activity here.
| # | Lender | Originated | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocket Mortgage | 388 | 6.6% |
| 2 | Navy Federal Credit Union | 237 | 4.0% |
| 3 | United Wholesale Mortgage | 234 | 4.0% |
| 4 | Tower Federal Credit Union | 194 | 3.3% |
| 5 | Nvr Mortgage Finance, INC. | 187 | 3.2% |
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.