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FHA loans in Iowa: all 99 counties at $541,287.
Iowa is the only state we work in where not a single county, metropolitan or otherwise, rises above the national FHA floor. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Iowa City, Sioux City: all at $541,287 for a one-unit property. Iowa also happens to sit at the opposite end of the spectrum from the loan limit conversation entirely, because a limit that high relative to local prices is rarely what stops an Iowa purchase.
2026 figures, taken from HUD's own county limits file. Subject to eligibility and lender guidelines.
"Polk County has Des Moines in it, so it should have a higher FHA limit."
It does not. Metro status alone does not raise a limit:
- Every Iowa county: $541,287 for one unit
- Polk County (Des Moines): the floor
- Linn County (Cedar Rapids): the floor
- Johnson County (Iowa City): the floor
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2026 FHA loan limits in Iowa
Iowa is flat from corner to corner. Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk and Woodbury are all on the same figure as the most rural county in the state, and Iowa is the only state in our footprint where not one metro area breaks the floor.
| Property | 2026 limit, all 99 counties |
|---|---|
| One unit | $541,287 |
| Two units | $693,050 |
| Three units | $837,700 |
| Four units | $1,041,125 |
For comparison, the highest-cost counties in the country are capped at $1,249,125 on a one-unit home. Against Iowa house prices the floor already sits well clear of the market, so the cap is effectively academic on most files.
County figures from HUD's CY2026 forward mortgage limits file; national floor and ceiling from Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. Confirm your own county on HUD's official lookup before it matters, since these change each January. No Iowa county, metropolitan or otherwise, is above the floor in HUD's 2026 file. Not a commitment to lend.
A limit far above the market means the limit is not the issue
A county only rises above the national floor when local median house prices push it there. Iowa having no such county tells you something real about the relationship between the FHA program and the Iowa market: the ceiling on what FHA will insure sits comfortably above what most Iowa homes cost. For the overwhelming majority of Iowa buyers, the loan limit is not a constraint worth thinking about.
What that leaves is the qualifying side, and two Iowa-relevant patterns are worth naming. Agricultural and self-employed income is common here, and self-employed income has its own documentation and averaging rules that a file either satisfies or does not. Rural properties are also common, and rural properties bring appraisal considerations that suburban ones do not: private wells, septic systems, access easements and outbuildings all have to satisfy FHA property standards.
Neither of those is an Iowa FHA rule. Both are federal rules that happen to come up more often in Iowa files than in, say, Miami-Dade ones.
Who regulates us in Iowa
Home Loans Inc: Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker is licensed as a mortgage broker in Iowa through the IA Division of Banking, under company NMLS #1728740. Jason Sharon's individual licence is NMLS #1281448.
Our Iowa license is issued through the Iowa Division of Banking under company NMLS #1728740, verifiable through NMLS Consumer Access in the footer.
We broker rather than lend, which helps on acreage and self-employed files where lender appetite varies more than the FHA rule does. HUD also maintains a Iowa page covering local housing programs and assistance.
The 99 figures above are the only state-specific part
Iowa files turn on documentation far more than on limits. Self-employed and rural files especially: the self-employed rules and the property standards are the two places to look first.
Comparing states? The state hub sets out what is federal and what is local across all ten states we are licensed in.
What people ask about FHA loans in Iowa
What is the FHA loan limit in Iowa for 2026?
$541,287 for a one-unit property in all 99 counties. Two-unit is $693,050, three-unit $837,700 and four-unit $1,041,125. No Iowa county is above the national floor.
Is the FHA limit higher in Des Moines?
No. Polk County is at the national floor of $541,287, the same as every other Iowa county. Being a metropolitan area does not by itself raise the limit; local median house prices have to be high enough, and in Iowa none are.
Can I use an FHA loan on an acreage or rural property in Iowa?
Yes, FHA does not exclude rural property, but the property has to meet FHA standards and rural features get specific attention. A private well and a septic system both have requirements, and access to the property matters. These are federal property rules, not Iowa rules, and they come up more often on rural files.
Does self-employed or farm income make an Iowa FHA loan harder?
It makes the documentation heavier rather than the loan harder. Self-employed income has its own history and averaging requirements under FHA rules. Files fail this on paperwork far more often than on the underlying income, which is worth knowing before you assume you do not qualify.
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