Today we’ll take a look at the top USDA lenders by loan volume in 2024.
In case you need a refresher, USDA loans are reserved for properties located in rural parts of the United States.
They are one of the four major home loan types, which includes conventional loans, FHA loans, and VA loans.
The mortgage companies on the list below managed to originate more rural home loans than the rest of their peers.
While not a huge market relative to the other types of mortgages mentioned, banks and lenders still funded more than $6 billion worth of USDA loans last year.
Top USDA Lenders in 2024
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $261 million |
| 2. | DHI Mortgage | $228 million |
| 3. | Guild Mortgage | $226 million |
| 4. | Fairway Independent | $149 million |
| 5. | Flat Branch | $145 million |
| 6. | CrossCountry | $142 million |
| 7. | Union Home | $130 million |
| 8. | Equity Prime Mtg | $117 million |
| 9. | Newrez | $107 million |
| 10. | GMFS | $98 million |
The lenders above beat out about 850 other mortgage companies to earn the distinction of top-10 USDA lender, per data parsed by Richey May.
Overall, 860+ lenders funded more than $6.3 billion in USDA loans last year via the retail and wholesale channels, with an average loan amount of $196,000.
This volume is down markedly from the peak in 2021 when USDA loan volume hit $33 billion!
The number one spot easily went to United Wholesale Mortgage, which is the largest mortgage lender in the national overall.
They are a wholesale lender, which means their product is pitched via smaller local independent mortgage brokers.
The company’s $261 million in USDA loan volume was just above their closest competitor, DHI Mortgage, which is actually the captive lender of top home builder D.R. Horton.
In third was San Diego-based Guild Mortgage, followed by Fairway Independent Mortgage and Flat Branch Mortgage.
Note that this only includes retail/wholesale lending volume, and if you include correspondent lending, Pennymac is the leader by far.
If you’re not familiar, a handful of ex-Countrywide executives founded the company in 2008, after the mortgage crisis wiped out former #1 mortgage lender Countrywide.
Planet Home Lending, Newrez, and AmeriHome are also big correspondent lenders in the USDA space.
Top USDA Lenders (Home Purchase Loans)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $260 million |
| 2. | DHI Mortgage | $228 million |
| 3. | Guild Mortgage | $225 million |
| 4. | Fairway Independent | $148 million |
| 5. | Flat Branch | $145 million |
| 6. | CrossCountry | $140 million |
| 7. | Union Home | $127 million |
| 8. | Equity Prime Mtg | $115 million |
| 9. | Newrez | $105 million |
| 10. | GMFS | $96 million |
Because USDA loans are primarily used for purchase transactions, the list above isn’t much different than the overall rankings.
In fact, only 1% of USDA loan volume last year was refinance loans. So the list is practically identical.
In the past, there was more variance because there used to be a lot more refinance volume. But given the fact that mortgage rates surged in 2022 and have yet to come down, refinancing has been hard to come by.
If and when rates fall, USDA loan borrowers could either take out another USDA loan or go with a conventional loan instead, such as a conforming loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The only difference in this list above is slightly smaller totals because it only includes purchases and not refis.
Top USDA Lenders (Refinance Loans)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2024 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Metroplex Mortgage | $4.1 million |
| 2. | Union Home | $2.9 million |
| 3. | CrossCountry | $2.0 million |
| 4. | GMFS | $1.9 million |
| 5. | Newrez | $1.9 million |
| 6. | Barrington Bank | $1.8 million |
| 7. | Pennymac | $1.8 million |
| 8. | First Community | $1.6 million |
| 9. | Equity Prime | $1.6 million |
| 10. | Royal United | $1.3 million |
It’s apparently not very common to refinance a USDA loan into another USDA loan, especially not recently.
Instead, borrowers will typically get a USDA loan to fund their home purchase with zero down and relatively easier underwriting requirements.
Then perhaps refinance into a conventional loan later down the line once they’ve got some equity and mortgage rates are favorable.
This is evidenced by the minuscule volume of USDA refinance loans generated by the top ten lenders on the list above.
However, there are streamline refinance options that allows existing USDA loan borrowers to get a new, lower-rate USDA loan with very few requirements.
You don’t need an appraisal or a property inspection and in the case of the USDA Streamlined Assist Program, no credit or income verification is necessary.
Given the very low volume, the names on this list aren’t necessarily big players in the USDA loan space. So take it with a big grain of salt.
Do You Need to Use a Big Name USDA Lender to Get Your Home Loan?
The USDA loan is a bit of a specialty product, so you should find a company that knows what it’s doing.
This might include some of the names on the lists above given their familiarity with the government loan program.
They can be tricky and involve some unique underwriting aspects other loans don’t, such as income limits and the fact that the property must be located in a rural area.
That being said, it might be possible to find a mortgage broker that knows their way around the program, or even a smaller regional bank or credit union.
As you would (should) any other type of mortgage, put in the time to research the company and/or individual.
There will always be pros and cons of working with different lenders, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution out there.
(photo: Phil Kates)
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.