If you're buying in California, the single most useful number to know before you fall in love with a house is your county's loan limit. It decides whether your mortgage counts as "conforming" (the standard loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), how much you can borrow with an FHA loan, and when you cross into jumbo territory — which comes with different down payment, credit, and reserve requirements.
California is where loan limits get complicated, because the state contains both baseline counties and nearly every "high-cost" county category the federal government recognizes. Sacramento and the Bay Area — two markets we serve every day — sit at opposite ends of that range.
The 2026 numbers, statewide
For 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) raised the baseline conforming loan limit to $832,750 for a single-family home, up from $806,500 in 2025. In designated high-cost counties, the ceiling is $1,249,125. FHA limits moved up in step: the FHA floor is now $541,287 and the FHA ceiling matches the conforming ceiling at $1,249,125.
Those are the national bookends. What matters is your county.
2026 conforming loan limits by California county
These are the official one-unit limits from FHFA's 2026 county list for the markets we serve:
| County (Metro) | 2026 Conforming Limit |
|---|---|
| Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo (Greater Sacramento) | $832,750 |
| San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin (Bay Area) | $1,249,125 |
| Los Angeles, Orange (LA / OC) | $1,249,125 |
| San Diego | $1,104,000 |
| Ventura | $1,035,000 |
| Monterey | $994,750 |
| Santa Barbara | $941,850 |
| Sonoma | $897,000 |
| San Joaquin, Stanislaus (Stockton–Modesto) | $832,750 |
| Riverside, San Bernardino (Inland Empire) | $832,750 |
| Shasta (Redding) | $832,750 |
| Butte (Chico) | $832,750 |
| Solano | $832,750 |
2026 FHA loan limits by California county
FHA limits are set county by county from local median home prices, so they don't always match the conforming numbers — and in mid-priced markets the difference matters a lot:
| County (Metro) | 2026 FHA Limit (1-unit) |
|---|---|
| Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo | $764,750 |
| San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin | $1,249,125 |
| Los Angeles, Orange | $1,249,125 |
| San Diego | $1,104,000 |
| Ventura | $1,035,000 |
| Monterey | $994,750 |
| Santa Barbara | $941,850 |
| Sonoma | $897,000 |
| San Joaquin | $678,500 |
| Riverside, San Bernardino | $690,000 |
| Solano | $685,400 |
| Stanislaus | $545,100 |
| Shasta (Redding) | $541,287 |
| Butte (Chico) | $541,287 |
What this means in Sacramento
Greater Sacramento's four core counties are all at the $832,750 conforming baseline — but the region's FHA limit of $764,750 is one of the most generous of any "baseline" market in the country. At today's Sacramento-area prices, that means FHA's 3.5% down payment option covers the majority of homes on the market, including much of Folsom, Roseville, and El Dorado Hills. If you've assumed FHA was only for entry-level homes, the 2026 limit is worth a second look.
What this means in the Bay Area
Every core Bay Area county is at the national ceiling: $1,249,125 for both conforming and FHA. Two practical takeaways. First, you can put as little as 3.5% down on an FHA loan all the way up to that ceiling — a fact that surprises many buyers who assume seven-figure loans automatically mean 20% down and jumbo underwriting. Second, staying at or under $1,249,125 keeps you in conforming territory, which generally means simpler qualifying than jumbo. On a $1.4M purchase, a larger down payment that brings the loan to the limit can be the difference between conforming and jumbo pricing — worth modeling both ways with your loan officer.
Over the limit? That's what jumbo is for
A loan above your county's conforming limit is a jumbo loan. Jumbo isn't a penalty box — it's simply a different credit box, typically with higher reserve and documentation expectations. Plenty of our California buyers close jumbo loans every month. And if you're a veteran or active-duty service member: VA loans have no loan limit at all for borrowers with full entitlement — in high-cost California markets that's one of the most underused advantages in lending.
Three things to remember
- Limits are per county, not per state. Moving one county over — say, Sacramento County to Yolo County — doesn't change your limit, but Contra Costa to Solano cuts the conforming limit by over $400,000.
- Limits are for the loan, not the price. You can buy a $1M home in Sacramento with a conforming loan if your down payment brings the loan to $832,750 or below.
- These reset every year. FHFA and HUD announce new limits each November/December. The figures above are current as of August 2026 and apply to loans closed under the 2026 limits.
Sources
- FHFA: Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (announced Nov 25, 2025)
- FHFA 2026 Full County Loan Limit List (county-level conforming values)
- HUD: FHA Announces 2026 Loan Limits and Mortgagee Letter 2025-23
- HUD CHUMS county limit data file, CY2026 (county-level FHA values)
- VA home loan limits (no limit with full entitlement)
Loan limits shown are for one-unit properties; two- to four-unit properties have higher limits. This is general information, not a loan offer or a commitment to lend. Your scenario may differ — talk to a local Xpert loan officer for numbers specific to you.