What Is Considered a Jumbo Loan in Each State?
How does each state define a "jumbo" loan?
A jumbo home loan is a loan that exceeds a specific amount, called the conforming loan limit. The conforming loan limit is actually calculated by county-- not by state, so depending on where exactly you live, you could face a different conforming loan limit. For most U.S. counties, the limit is set at $453,100, a nice increase from 2017’s $424,100. For particularly high priced areas, including some parts of Hawaii, the loan limit can reach $679,650.
These limit prices aren’t arbitrary-- instead, they’re calculated based off of the home prices in the area. For example, the average home price in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, comes in at $169,900, while the average home price in Los Angeles clocks in at $570,000. So, the higher the average home price in any particular area, the higher the conforming loan limit will usually be. Therefore, you can take out a larger loan in higher-price areas without it going to into jumbo loan territory.