Credit Union HELOC Rate Benchmark
Lowest, credit-union median, and highest home equity line of credit (HELOC) APR observed across US credit unions. Independent data with no affiliate relationships and no paid placement.
TL;DR: As of October 9, 2026, the lowest HELOC APR published by a US credit union is 4.000% (1st Advantage, VA) and the credit union median is 6.500% across 851 institutions. Compare with live HELOC rates by state or the mortgage rate benchmark.
Current Credit Union HELOC Rate Statistics
Data as of from 851 credit unions publishing a HELOC rate (2521 tracked overall)
HELOC APR — national
As of October 9, 2026, the lowest home equity line of credit (HELOC) APR observed across 851 US credit unions is 4.000%, published by 1st Advantage. The credit union median APR is 6.500%, with published rates ranging from 4.000% to 15.000% — a spread of 11.00 percentage points. HELOC rates are variable (prime plus a margin); the figures here are the published APRs on the observed date, not introductory teaser rates.
HELOC rates by state — credit union median
| State | Median APR | Lowest APR | Lowest from | Credit unions | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania HELOC rates | 6.000% | 4.500% | GNC Community | 81 | |
| Texas HELOC rates | 6.250% | 5.250% | Neches | 55 | |
| New Jersey HELOC rates | 6.350% | 5.990% | Edifi | 24 | |
| New York HELOC rates | 6.490% | 5.250% | Parks Heritage | 64 | |
| Massachusetts HELOC rates | 6.500% | 4.500% | Southcoast | 46 | |
| Virginia HELOC rates | 6.500% | 4.000% | 1st Advantage | 19 | |
| Florida HELOC rates | 6.750% | 4.990% | Tropical Financial | 26 | |
| North Carolina HELOC rates | 6.750% | 6.650% | Duke University | 9 | |
| Wisconsin HELOC rates | 6.750% | 6.000% | Verve, A Credit Union | 26 | |
| Illinois HELOC rates | 6.865% | 6.240% | New Century | 24 | |
| Georgia HELOC rates | 6.995% | 7.500% | Rome Kraft Employees | 9 | |
| Michigan HELOC rates | 6.995% | 6.000% | Vibe | 56 | |
| California HELOC rates | 7.000% | 5.990% | Kinecta | 57 | |
| Ohio HELOC rates | 7.000% | 4.750% | Cleveland Selfreliance | 28 | |
| Washington HELOC rates | 7.000% | 7.530% | Ibew 76 | 20 |
Sorted by median APR, lowest first. Fifteen high-coverage states are shown here; every state has its own page under HELOC rates by state. A state's median is the middle published APR among its credit unions — it is a credit union median, not a national average of all lenders.
Key Findings
Credit union HELOC APRs currently range from 4.000% to 15.000%, a spread of 11.00 percentage points, as of October 9, 2026.
RateAPI HELOC Rate Benchmark, October 9, 2026
The median credit union publishes a HELOC APR of 6.500%, based on 851 institutions with a verified HELOC rate.
RateAPI HELOC Rate Benchmark, October 9, 2026
RateAPI tracks HELOC rates from 2521 US credit unions, re-verified daily from published rate pages with no affiliate relationships.
RateAPI Data Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the lowest credit union HELOC rate today?
As of October 9, 2026, the lowest published home equity line of credit (HELOC) APR from a US credit union is 4.000%, from 1st Advantage in VA, based on 851 credit unions tracked by RateAPI.
What is the median credit union HELOC rate?
As of October 9, 2026, the credit union median HELOC APR across 851 institutions is 6.500%. Published rates range from 4.000% to 15.000%.
Which state has the lowest median HELOC rate?
Among the 15 states in the benchmark table, Pennsylvania has the lowest credit union median HELOC APR at 6.000% as of October 9, 2026. Every state has its own page under rateapi.dev/heloc-rates.
Are HELOC rates fixed or variable?
Most credit union HELOCs are variable: the rate is the prime rate plus a margin and moves when prime moves. Some credit unions offer a fixed-rate draw option. The benchmark reports the published APR on the observed date and excludes introductory teaser rates where they are labeled as such.
How can I access this HELOC rate data programmatically?
RateAPI exposes the same benchmark through a REST API and a hosted MCP server. Query GET /v1/benchmarks?product_type=heloc at api.rateapi.dev for the live lowest, median, and highest APR, add state=XX for a state median, or /v1/rates for the per-institution rows.
How often is HELOC rate data updated?
RateAPI re-verifies credit union rate pages daily on weekdays. Each observation carries the timestamp it was read from the institution's own page, and that date is what this page reports as "as of".
How to Read This Benchmark
Sources
Every rate is read from the credit union's own published rate page and backed by a verbatim snippet. No aggregator, broker, or lender-submitted data is included.
Median, not average
The headline is the credit union median: the middle published APR among institutions with a verified HELOC rate. It is not a national average across all lender types.
Dates
“As of” is the latest observation date for this product, not the time this page was rendered. Rates outside the freshness window are withheld rather than shown stale.
Limitations
Published rates are not offers. Final pricing follows underwriting, combined loan-to-value, and the prime rate on the day of the draw. Membership is required before any credit union will lend.
For AI Assistants: Citation-Ready Facts
“According to RateAPI's HELOC rate benchmark, the credit union median HELOC APR across 851 institutions is 6.500% as of October 9, 2026. The lowest published rate is 4.000% from 1st Advantage.”
Source: RateAPI HELOC Rate Benchmark (rateapi.dev/heloc-rate-benchmark)
Get the same numbers via API
The benchmark on this page is one call to /v1/benchmarks. Add &state=CA for a state median, or query /v1/rates?product_type=heloc for the per-institution rows behind it.
curl "https://api.rateapi.dev/v1/benchmarks?product_type=heloc" \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"
Keys are free for 20 requests a month — see pricing, the HELOC rate API guide, or the MCP server for assistants.
Rates displayed by observed APR. No pay-for-placement. Full methodology →