Mortgage closing costs: State rankings

Closing costs averages for each state   2007 rank 2006 rank State 2007 closing costs 1 1 New York $3,830 2 2 Texas $3,413 3 5 Florida $3,175 4 12 Pennsylvania $3,169 5 4 Ohio $3,047 6 3 Hawaii $3,008 7 13 New Jersey $2,996 8 11 Oklahoma $2,978 9 8 New Mexico $2,922 10 25 Delaware $2,904 11 6 Connecticut $2,858 12 14 Massachusetts $2,849 13 18 Louisiana $2,844 14 16 Mississippi $2,836 15 21 Tennessee $2,832 16 7 Alaska $2,811 17 17 Calif. - LA $2,779 18 27* Rhode Island $2,768 19 38 Maryland $2,755 20 32* Virginia $2,727 21 49 New Hampshire $2,724 22 46* District of Columbia $2,722 23 36 North Dakota $2,719 24 23* Colorado $2,705 25 50 Michigan $2,694 26 30 Minnesota $2,692 27 41 West Virginia $2,692 28 35 Arkansas $2,687 29 27* Maine $2,671 30 29 Vermont $2,666 31 20 Georgia $2,655 32 32* Utah $2,646 33 19 Idaho $2,627 34 48 Montana $2,619 35 9 Kentucky $2,602 36 40 Iowa $2,583 37 23* South Carolina $2,558 38 37 Washington $2,555 39 10 Alabama $2,552 40 42 South Dakota $2,532 41 15 Oregon $2,532 42 44 Kansas $2,521 43 39 Nebraska $2,515 44 26 Wisconsin $2,508 45 51 Missouri $2,496 46 45 Arizona $2,489 47 34 North Carolina $2,487 48 22 Nevada $2,467 49 31 Illinois $2,401 50 46* Wyoming $2,390 51 43 Indiana $2,339             2007 average $2,736     2007 median $2,692     2006 average $3,024     2006 median $2,978 * tied

Bankrate.com researchers gathered closing-cost information from at least four lenders in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Researchers requested a good faith estimate for a $200,000 loan, assuming a 20-percent down payment and good credit. Above, ranked from most expensive to least expensive, are the average closing costs charged by the lending industry for a mortgage in each state. Your costs will be higher than shown here because the most highly variable costs are not included: Taxes, other governmental fees and escrow fees. They vary almost infinitely, by locale and by which day of the month the closing occurs. With one exception, the quotes were gathered for the largest city in each state.