Common questionCommon question
What credit score do you need for down payment assistance?
Short answer
1090 of the 2,700-plus programs in the catalog publish a minimum credit score, and the lowest published floor in the catalog is 550. They are recorded in 51 states and territories.
By the numbers
programs publishing a minimum score
- States and territoriesStates and territories with one
- 51
- Open nationwideOpen nationwide
- 1
- Grants or forgivableGrants or forgivable loans
- 495
- Deferred second loansDeferred second loans
- 426
- Ask for a homebuyer classAsk for a homebuyer class
- 976
- No first-time ruleNo first-time requirement
- 296
Hey Prescott catalog of 2,000+ programs. Types are as each program record labels them.
What to know
Where a program publishes no floor of its own, the underlying first mortgage generally sets one. A published minimum is a threshold the program will consider, not a guarantee of approval — the first-mortgage lender underwrites separately. Programs that publish no score requirement are not necessarily more lenient; many simply defer to the first mortgage.
Near you
See programs where you’re buying
Start with a ZIP code, then a few short questions to see every program that matches your answers. No SSN, no credit pull.
State by state
Programs publishing a minimum score, leaving out the 1 nationwide program.51 states and territories have at least one. Each links to that state’s full directory. Counts leave out the 1 nationwide program that counts here, which applies in every state.
| State | Programs publishing a minimum score |
|---|---|
| California | 245 |
| Florida | 128 |
| Texas | 82 |
| Colorado | 53 |
| Maryland | 38 |
| Virginia | 38 |
| Georgia | 30 |
| Washington | 29 |
| Oklahoma | 28 |
| North Carolina | 27 |
Questions, answered
Where do these numbers come from?
Hey Prescott maintains a catalog of 2,000+ active down payment assistance programs across all 50 states and DC, each verified against the administering agency’s own published material and carrying the date it was last checked. The counts on this page are drawn from that catalog and refresh as it does.
Is Hey Prescott a lender?
No. Hey Prescott is an educational directory of down payment assistance programs. We list programs and link to official sources; we do not make loans or give individualized lending advice.