Stearns County
Minnesota · FIPS 27145
According to CFPB HMDA 2024 application volume among U.S. counties, Stearns County ranks #540 of 3,210, and #10 of 87 in Minnesota.
Mortgage lending activity in Stearns County, Minnesota 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. Stearns County, Minnesota saw 4,589 HMDA-reported mortgage applications in 2024. Lenders originated 2,927 of those loans and denied 486, producing a denial rate of 10.6% and an approval (origination) rate of 63.8%. The average loan amount was $208,596 at an average note rate of 6.76%, with applicants self-reporting average annual income of $37K. 202 distinct institutions reported mortgage activity in this county.
Borrower leverage and affordability signal. The loan-to-income ratio averages 5.6x, meaning typical borrowers took on mortgages of about 5.6 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 Stearns County
In Stearns County, lead originator Magnifi Financial Credit Union funded 12.3% of 2,927 originated loans, in the middle tercile of U.S. counties (~10.9-16.7% top-1). The top three reporters together hold 22.4% of the book; a local credit union or regional bank still sits beside the national wholesalers.
Counties With Similar Application Volume
Nationwide counties nearest to Stearns County's 4,589 HMDA applications.
Counties With a Similar Average Loan
Nationwide counties nearest to Stearns County's $208,596 average loan (deduped against volume peers).
Lenders active in Stearns County
Magnifi Financial Credit Union funded 360 of the 2,927 loans originated in Stearns County, 12.3% of the county. 202 lenders reported activity here.
| # | Lender | Originated | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnifi Financial Credit Union | 360 | 12.3% |
| 2 | St. Cloud Financial Credit Union | 150 | 5.1% |
| 3 | Homeowners Financial Group, LLC | 147 | 5.0% |
| 4 | Liberty Bank Minnesota | 134 | 4.6% |
| 5 | Rocket Mortgage | 109 | 3.7% |
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 Stearns 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 Stearns 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.