California FHA Loan Limits 2020: Another Year, Another Increase

At a glance: This page includes the 2020 FHA loan limits for all California counties. They were increased from their 2019 levels in response to rising home prices across the state. In 2020, California FHA loan limits will range from $331,760 to $765,600, depending on the county.

FHA Mortgage Amounts Going Up

On December 3, 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would be increasing the FHA loan limits for all California counties in 2020. That change was made in response to significant home-price gains that occurred during calendar year 2019.

According to a HUD email announcement from December 3rd:

“This year, the change in the national median home price increased the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) loan limits. Therefore, FHA’s “floor” and “ceiling” loan limits will increase for Calendar Year (CY) 2020, to $331,760 and $765,600, respectively, for a one-unit property.”

These changes will take effect on January 1, 2020. They apply to all purchase mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration with case numbers assigned on or after that date, and will remain in effect through December 31 of this year.

California FHA Loan Limits for 2020

The 2020 FHA loan limits for California will range from $331,760 in 21 counties across the state, up to $765,600 in the more expensive counties (like those in the San Francisco Bay Area).

The table below shows the 2020 limits for all California counties. In this table, the “1-family” column refers to a single-family residence. The “2-family” column applies to duplex-type properties with two residences, and so on.

County 1-Family 2-Family 3-Family 4-Family
ALAMEDA $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
ALPINE $463,450 $593,300 $717,150 $891,250
AMADOR $355,350 $454,900 $549,850 $683,350
BUTTE $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
CALAVERAS $373,750 $478,450 $578,350 $718,750
COLUSA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
CONTRA COSTA $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
DEL NORTE $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
EL DORADO $569,250 $728,750 $880,900 $1,094,700
FRESNO $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
GLENN $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
HUMBOLDT $345,000 $441,650 $533,850 $663,450
IMPERIAL $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
INYO $373,750 $478,450 $578,350 $718,750
KERN $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
KINGS $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
LAKE $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
LASSEN $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
LOS ANGELES $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
MADERA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
MARIN $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
MARIPOSA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
MENDOCINO $409,400 $524,100 $633,500 $787,300
MERCED $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
MODOC $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
MONO $529,000 $677,200 $818,600 $1,017,300
MONTEREY $672,750 $861,250 $1,041,050 $1,293,750
NAPA $764,750 $979,000 $1,183,400 $1,470,700
NEVADA $486,450 $622,750 $752,750 $935,500
ORANGE $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
PLACER $569,250 $728,750 $880,900 $1,094,700
PLUMAS $336,950 $431,350 $521,400 $648,000
RIVERSIDE $442,750 $566,800 $685,100 $851,450
SACRAMENTO $569,250 $728,750 $880,900 $1,094,700
SAN BENITO $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
SAN BERNARDINO $442,750 $566,800 $685,100 $851,450
SAN DIEGO $701,500 $898,050 $1,085,550 $1,349,050
SAN FRANCISCO $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
SAN JOAQUIN $448,500 $574,150 $694,000 $862,500
SAN LUIS OBISPO $690,000 $883,300 $1,067,750 $1,326,950
SAN MATEO $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
SANTA BARBARA $653,200 $836,200 $1,010,800 $1,256,150
SANTA CLARA $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
SANTA CRUZ $765,600 $980,325 $1,184,925 $1,472,550
SHASTA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
SIERRA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
SISKIYOU $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
SOLANO $506,000 $647,750 $783,000 $973,100
SONOMA $704,950 $902,450 $1,090,850 $1,355,700
STANISLAUS $365,700 $468,150 $565,900 $703,250
SUTTER $345,000 $441,650 $533,850 $663,450
TEHAMA $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
TRINITY $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
TULARE $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
TUOLUMNE $331,760 $424,800 $513,450 $638,100
VENTURA $713,000 $912,750 $1,103,350 $1,371,150
YOLO $569,250 $728,750 $880,900 $1,094,700
YUBA $345,000 $441,650 $533,850 $663,450

Key Takeaways From This Update

As mentioned earlier, the FHA loan limits for 2020 were increased for all 58 counties in the state of California.

That’s an important point, because they weren’t raised in every county across the U.S. In fact, a dozen or so counties nationwide were assigned lower FHA loan limits for 2020.

But in California, the caps will be rising across the board.

It’s also important to realize that these limits vary from one county to the next. You can see this clearly in the table above. Home prices are the main reason for this variance. Conforming and FHA loan limits are based on median home values, which can vary from one county to the next.

As you can see in the table, the highest California FHA loan limits for 2020 are found in those counties that fall within the San Francisco Bay Area. In those areas, the limit was increased to $765,600 for 2020. That applies to the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

Los Angeles and Orange counties also fall within that maximum or “ceiling” threshold range.

The rest of the state has lower FHA loan limits for 2020, as low as $331,760 in many counties. So there’s a pretty broad spectrum between those “floor” and “ceiling” amounts.

Home Prices Rising in the Golden State

California will get higher FHA limits in 2020 due to the home-price gains that occurred during 2019. These loan caps are reviewed annually, along with median home values nationwide. When house prices climb steadily over the course of a year, the limits are often increased to keep up.

It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes the FHA loan caps are kept the same from one year to the next — or even lowered, where necessary. But in California, they’ve all gone up from 2019 to 2020.

According to a November 2019 report from the California Association of REALTORS, the statewide median home price reached $605,280 as of October 2019. That was a gain of 6% compared to the same month a year earlier. This is partly why the FHA loan limits were increased for 2020.

Disclaimer: The California FHA loan limits shown in the table above were acquired from the Department of Housing and Urban Development website. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our content, there’s always a change of human error when transcribing large amounts of data. You can verify the 2020 FHA loan limits for your California county by using HUD’s database, located at the following address:
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm