Down payment assistance (DPA) — public money that helps cover your down payment or closing costs — is awarded state by state, so what you qualify for changes at the state line. Pick your state to see the flagship program, the agency that administers it, whether the money is a grant or a repayable second loan, and the official page where current terms live. Then size it against your own down payment gap. No email required — your report appears on screen.
Size The Program
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FHA 31/43 debt-to-income limits (housing payment capped at 31% of gross monthly income, housing plus all other debts at 43%), 3% minimum down before assistance is applied. Two separate things: the state directory covers all 50 states; this estimator can size a program against your gap in 11 of them. Every other figure in this report — affordability, payment, shortfall — works for any state.
Before you call a lender
Your closing sheet arrives carrying a stack of lender and third-party fees on top of the payment you just calculated, and several of them are not fixed. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau groups those on the Loan Estimate under the heading “Services You Can Shop For”, and states that “you can save money by shopping for these services separately” (CFPB, Loan Estimate Explainer). We publish no average saving, because we hold no verified figure for one — what you keep depends on your lender, your state and your file. Assistance money you win from a state program can leave again at that table. The Quick-Start Rate & Fee Playbook names the seven fees worth challenging, gives you a six-question script for the lender call, and supplies the wording that gets them cut or waived.
Your Personalized Action Plan
Built from what you entered and from the program your state runs. Change an input and the order changes with it.
What happens at the closing table decides whether you keep the assistance you were awarded or quietly hand it back in fees. The Quick-Start Rate & Fee Playbook is the script for that room.
Watch The Walkthrough
Watch one buyer's numbers go in, the state program come back, and the shortfall that is left get closed. Jump to any chapter.
The walkthrough runs one buyer end to end: choosing a state and seeing which program that state administers; entering income, debts, savings, target price, rent and monthly savings rate; how the FHA 31/43 debt-to-income limits set the price the file supports; reading the payment breakdown (P&I, tax, insurance, total PITI) and the payment-shock check against current rent; how the risk chips flag debt ratios, payment shock and thin reserves; how the down payment shortfall, the time to close it unaided and the state program match are worked out; and how to download or email the report and action plan. Narration uses an AI voice.
Assistance In Your State
The program below is taken from the agency's own published materials, and the link goes to the agency, not to a lead form. Assistance arrives in one of three shapes: a grant, which you never repay; a forgivable second loan, a second mortgage sitting behind your main one that is written off once you have lived in the home for a set number of years; or a plain second loan, which you do repay, usually when you sell or refinance.
Each one names that state's flagship program, says whether the money arrives as a grant or as a second loan, and links out to the agency page where the current amounts, income limits and credit floors are published.
Sources: the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the rate benchmark, and the official state housing finance agency pages linked with each program. Last reviewed July 2026.
Common Questions
Answers drawn from the agencies' own published program materials.
Down payment assistance is money put toward your down payment or closing costs, delivered as a grant, as a forgivable second loan, or as a low-interest second loan. It is awarded locally rather than federally: each state housing finance agency runs the statewide programs, and cities, counties and some employers layer their own on top. Down Payment Resource counted 2,679 of these programs live nationwide in its Q1 2026 tally — but only about 3 in 4 (77%) were actually active and funded at that count, which is why this directory links every entry straight to the agency's own current page instead of a static number.
The range is wide. City programs can reach $100,000, as NYC HomeFirst does. Most statewide programs land between $7,500 and $15,000, or 3% to 5% of the loan amount. Some pay a fixed dollar figure and others pay a percentage, which is why the type matters as much as the headline number. Your state's page names the program and links to the agency publishing the current figure.
Often, but not always. Plenty of programs are written for first-time buyers only. A large share also count anyone who has not owned a home in the past three years, and some are aimed at particular groups such as teachers, veterans and healthcare workers.
A 620 minimum is the most common floor across state programs, usually paired with income limits set against the area median income. Each agency sets its own bar and revises it from time to time, so confirm the number on the official program page linked with your state.
That depends entirely on which program you use. Some are outright grants. Many are deferred second loans that are forgiven once you have lived in the home for a set number of years. Others are low- or zero-interest loans that come due when you sell or refinance. The program type is named alongside every state's program.
Usually yes, because assistance is built to sit behind a first mortgage. FHA asks 3.5% down, VA and USDA allow 0% down, and an assistance program can often cover that requirement plus closing costs, subject to your lender's rules and the program's own.