Loan Limits / California / Santa Clara County
2026 Loan Limits · California · SAN JOSE-SUNNYVALE-SANTA CLARA, CA
Santa Clara County, CA.
2026 conforming and FHA loan limits, calibrated to a median sales price of $1,820,000. This county is designated high-cost — conforming limits exceed the national baseline.
Median Sales Price
$1,820,000
Per HUD CHUMS, 2026
Conforming 1u Limit
$1,249,125
High-cost
FHA 1u Limit
$1,249,125
Ceiling
Jumbo Threshold
> $1,249,125
1-unit · loans above this are jumbo
Conforming (Fannie / Freddie)
High-cost| 1-unit (single-family) | $1,249,125 |
| 2-unit (duplex) | $1,599,375 |
| 3-unit (triplex) | $1,933,200 |
| 4-unit (fourplex) | $2,402,625 |
FHA Forward (203b)
Ceiling| 1-unit (single-family) | $1,249,125 |
| 2-unit (duplex) | $1,599,375 |
| 3-unit (triplex) | $1,933,200 |
| 4-unit (fourplex) | $2,402,625 |
About this county
About Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara metropolitan statistical area, which is part of the larger San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area. Santa Clara is the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Northern California. Read more on Wikipedia →
Population
1,903,297
U.S. Census ACS 2023
Median Household Income
$159,674
U.S. Census ACS 2023
Median Home Value (Census)
$1,382,800
Owner-occupied · ACS 2023
Owner-Occupancy Rate
55%
Of occupied housing
What these limits mean for buyers in Santa Clara County
The 2026 conforming 1-unit limit for Santa Clara County is $1,249,125. Loans at or below this amount can be sold by the originating lender to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which keeps pricing tight and underwriting consistent. Because Santa Clara County is designated a high-cost area, the limit exceeds the national baseline of $832,750.
For FHA financing, the 2026 1-unit limit is $1,249,125. The HUD CHUMS table pegs the median sales price for Santa Clara County at $1,820,000. Santa Clara County is in HUD's FHA high-cost tier — its limit sits between the national floor of $541,287 and the ceiling of $1,249,125, calculated as 115% of the area median.
Practical takeaway. The median sales price in Santa Clara County ($1,820,000) is above the conforming limit. A typical median-priced purchase here will be a jumbo loan unless the down payment is large enough to bring the loan amount inside conforming territory. We underwrite jumbo regularly.
How the limits are set
Conforming limits come from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which adjusts them each year based on changes in the FHFA Housing Price Index. FHA limits come from HUD: the national floor is $541,287 (65% of conforming baseline), the ceiling is $1,249,125 (150% of conforming baseline), and counties between are calculated as 115% of the area median sales price.
Multi-unit and house-hacking math
Santa Clara County 2-, 3-, and 4-unit conforming limits are $1,599,375, $1,933,200, and $2,402,625 respectively. If you're house-hacking — owner-occupying one unit of a 2-4 unit property — these are the limits that matter, and the rental income on the other units can be used to qualify. FHA and VA both finance owner-occupied 2-4 unit properties at their own multi-unit limits.
Limits effective 2026 per HUD CHUMS publication. Sourced GSE and FHA files. Generated 2026-04-26.
Buying in Santa Clara County?
We'll structure the loan against the right limit and the right program. Conforming, FHA, VA, jumbo — all in-house.