Appleton
Metropolitan Statistical Area · MSA Code 11540
According to CFPB HMDA 2024 application volume among tracked metros, Appleton ranks #217 of 418.
Mortgage lending activity in the Appleton metro area based on lender filings under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Data covers all applications received by HMDA-reporting institutions operating in this geography during 2024. Why mortgages get denied walks the denial-reason codes that appear in books like this one.
Metro-area mortgage activity. The Appleton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA code 11540) recorded 9,167 HMDA-reported mortgage applications in 2024. Lenders originated 6,457 of those and denied others at a rate of 9.0%, for an approval (origination) rate of 70.4%. The average loan amount across the MSA was $203,987 at an average note rate of 6.99%. 20 major lenders are tracked for this metro - Community First Credit Union, Fox Communities Credit Union, Capital Credit Union lead by origination volume. Among the 418 metros tracked, Appleton ranks #4 by denial rate (the 99th percentile for approval-friendliness), and shares its 5-point denial-rate band with 7 other tracked metros.
What MSA numbers tell you, and what they don't. Metro area boundaries are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and typically span multiple counties, so a single Appleton denial rate averages across urban core, inner suburbs, and outer commuter communities with very different borrower profiles. A 9.0% denial rate at the MSA level can coexist with widely varying individual-lender denial rates; $203,987 average loan size reflects the MSA's property values and the borrower pool that actually applied, not any single neighborhood. This page is informational data reporting, not financial, legal, or mortgage advice.
Lender concentration in Appleton
In Appleton, lead originator Community First Credit Union funded 16.3% of 6,457 originated loans, above the fleet's upper tercile (~12.8% top-1). The top three reporters together hold 34.2% of the book, so a handful of names dominate disclosed volume here.
Metros With a Similar Denial Rate
The metro areas closest to Appleton's 9.0% denial rate among all 418 tracked MSAs.
Metros With Similar Application Volume
Nationwide MSAs nearest to Appleton's 9,167 HMDA applications (deduped against the denial-rate neighbourhood).
Metros With a Similar Average Loan
Nationwide MSAs nearest to Appleton's $203,987 average loan (deduped against denial and volume peers).
Lenders active in the Appleton metro
Community First Credit Union funded 1,052 of the 6,457 loans originated here, 16.3% of the metro. 20 reporting lenders follow.
| # | Lender | Originated | Applications | Avg Loan | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Community First Credit Union | 1,052 | 1,305 | $163,766 | 16.3% |
| 2 | Fox Communities Credit Union | 689 | 821 | $125,828 | 10.7% |
| 3 | Capital Credit Union | 470 | 619 | $139,426 | 7.3% |
| 4 | Nicolet National Bank | 270 | 300 | $248,867 | 4.2% |
| 5 | Associated Bank NA | 232 | 328 | $164,390 | 3.6% |
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) 2024. Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Data from FFIEC / CFPB HMDA Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (2024). Provided for informational purposes only; does not constitute financial advice for Appleton 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 Appleton 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.