St. Louis, MO-IL metro: mortgages and home buyers
2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 15-county St. Louis, MO-IL area (OMB code 41180), from official HMDA records.
In 2025, lenders reported 28,803 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area. The median buyer borrowed $255,000 on a home valued at $305,000 and reported a household income of $101,000.
Buyers financed a median 91.6% of the home's value (roughly 8.4% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $3,900.
Lenders denied 6.7% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Home buyers' median income ($101,000) is 13% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
- Median conventional loan costs ($3,900) were 30% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (35.7% of purchase loans).
- 55.4% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (29.1% of denials with a stated reason).
Counties in the metro area
| County | Purchase loans | Median loan | Buyer income | 30-yr rate | Loan costs | Conforming limit | FHA limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis County, MO | 9,242 | $265,000 | $104,000 | 6.625% | $4,080 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| St. Charles County, MO | 5,152 | $325,000 | $119,000 | 6.625% | $4,060 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Jefferson County, MO | 2,765 | $265,000 | $94,000 | 6.625% | $4,070 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Madison County, IL | 2,913 | $195,000 | $90,000 | 6.625% | $2,970 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| St. Clair County, IL | 2,491 | $225,000 | $98,000 | 6.750% | $2,860 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| St. Louis city, MO | 2,364 | $225,000 | $93,000 | 6.625% | $3,970 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Franklin County, MO | 1,147 | $235,000 | $90,000 | 6.625% | $3,830 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Lincoln County, MO | 759 | $285,000 | $98,000 | 6.750% | $3,990 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Warren County, MO | 548 | $295,000 | $94,000 | 6.625% | $4,110 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Monroe County, IL | 379 | $255,000 | $118,000 | 6.750% | $3,280 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Macoupin County, IL | 373 | $145,000 | $76,000 | 6.625% | $2,540 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Clinton County, IL | 308 | $195,000 | $94,000 | 6.625% | $2,930 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Jersey County, IL | 227 | $155,000 | $80,000 | 6.625% | $2,820 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Bond County, IL | 116 | $145,000 | $85,000 | — | $2,850 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Calhoun County, IL | 19 | — | — | — | — | $832,750 | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in St. Louis
Home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family (1–4 unit) site-built homes, first liens, originated in 2025.
Values are medians; "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile.
Loan type
What the homes were for
All first-lien, closed-end purchase mortgages, including second homes and investors.
Borrower age
Debt-to-income ratio
Monthly debts (including the new payment) as a share of income, as used in underwriting.
What borrowing cost in St. Louis
Medians for 2025 home-purchase loans. Total loan costs are section D of the Loan Estimate/Closing Disclosure (lender and third-party loan charges, excluding taxes, prepaids and escrow). FHA and VA costs include the upfront mortgage insurance premium or VA funding fee, so compare like with like.
| Measure | St. Louis | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed rate · conventional | 6.625% | 6.625% |
| 30-year fixed rate · FHA | 6.500% | 6.250% |
| 30-year fixed rate · VA | 6.250% | 6.125% |
| 15-year fixed rate · conventional | 5.990% | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.24 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $3,900 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $8,300 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $4,710 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $1,420 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 31.5% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 0.46% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 33.5% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 5.7% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.7% | 3.8% |
Medians are shown only when at least 30 loans report the field. Rates are those reported at closing; market rates changed during 2025, which the rate spread (APR minus the average prime offer rate on the lock date) adjusts for.
Approvals and denials
St. Louis: 2,140 of 31,741 completed home-purchase applications were denied (6.7%).
Denial rate
| Application | St. Louis | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 6.7% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 5.7% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 11.1% | 12.5% |
| VA | 6.9% | 8.0% |
| USDA | 9.0% | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 12.1% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 31.1% | 33.6% |
Main reason for purchase denials
First reason the lender reported.
Denial rate = denied ÷ (originated + approved but not accepted + denied). Withdrawn and incomplete applications are excluded. Differences between places reflect who applies, not only lender behavior.
Refinancing in St. Louis
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology