Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state before you talk to any lender. Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state.
Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Arizona
33 credit unions are headquartered in Arizona, with 2,036,097 members in total. 18 are federal credit unions and 15 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 33
- Members
- 2.0M
- Federal
- 18
- State-chartered
- 15
- Members per 100 people
- 28
- CUs per 100k people
- 0.5
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Arizona
Arizona has 204 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 33 credit unions headquartered here — about 6.2 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 2,036,097 members — roughly 28 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
33
0.5 per 100k residents
2.0M members
Payday & loan stores
204
2.8 per 100k residents
10 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Arizona: TitleMax (71), ACE Cash Express (32), OneMain Financial (22), CASH 1 Loans (16), Check Into Cash (16).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in Arizona
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the Arizona rate cap (36% APR) | $92.30/mo | $53.79 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR) | $90.27/mo | $41.62 |
| Payday loan renewed every 2 weeks (typical $15 per $100, not available in Arizona) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the Arizona rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.4%
Example calculation with fixed monthly payments; the payday row shows typical out-of-state pricing for comparison. Actual rates and terms vary by lender.
What it means for a household in Arizona
- Median household income
- $81,327
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.8 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 13.8%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 12.9%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Arizona are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Arizona
| Payday loan in AZ | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Not allowed — storefront payday loans are banned | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Rate cap | Capped at 36% APR | Up to 28% |
| Term | Usually 2–4 weeks, due in one payment | 1 to 12 months, in installments |
| Credit check | Usually none; a bank account and income are required | Membership required; payments can be reported to credit bureaus |
Payday rules: Arizona law as summarized on our Arizona payday page. PAL rules: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) rules for federal credit unions (PAL I and PAL II); state-chartered credit unions may offer similar small loans.
Credit unions by city in Arizona
Credit unions are headquartered in 17 cities and towns across Arizona. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Arizona
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 511,369 | desertfinancial.com |
| Oneaz Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 237,714 | oneazcu.com |
| Vantage West Credit UnionState-chartered | Tucson | 214,956 | vantagewest.org |
| Hughes Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucson | 188,025 | hughesfcu.org |
| Arizona Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 178,809 | arizonafinancial.org |
| Credit Union WestState-chartered | Glendale | 97,148 | cuwest.org |
| Truwest Credit UnionState-chartered | Scottsdale | 90,529 | truwest.org |
| Pima Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucson | 74,422 | pimafederal.org |
| Tucson Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucson | 52,073 | tucsonfcu.com |
| Arizona Central Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 46,768 | azcentralcu.org |
| First Credit UnionState-chartered | Chandler | 44,401 | firstcu.net |
| Sunwest Federal Credit UnionFederal | Glendale | 43,450 | mysunwest.com |
| Copper State Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 37,804 | copperstatecu.org |
| American Southwest Credit UnionState-chartered | Sierra Vista | 33,574 | ascu.org |
| Avenir Financial Federal Credit UnionFederal | Yuma | 33,293 | avenirfinancial.org |
| Pinal County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Casa Grande | 28,757 | pinalcountyfcu.com |
| Aero Federal Credit UnionFederal | Glendale | 23,937 | aerofinancial.com |
| Pyramid Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucson | 17,727 | pyramidfcu.com |
| Landings Credit UnionState-chartered | Tempe | 15,054 | landingscu.org |
| First American Credit UnionState-chartered | Casa Grande | 11,841 | firstamerican.org |
| Coconino Federal Credit UnionFederal | Flagstaff | 9,639 | coconinofcu.org |
| Banner Federal Credit UnionFederal | Phoenix | 6,624 | bannerfcu.org |
| Marisol Federal Credit UnionFederal | Phoenix | 5,980 | marisolcu.org |
| Cochise Credit UnionState-chartered | Willcox | 5,840 | cochisecu.com |
| Southeastern Arizona Federal Credit UnionFederal | Douglas | 5,392 | seafcu.com |
| Mohave Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Kingman | 5,292 | mohavecommunityfcu.com |
| Alhambra Credit UnionState-chartered | Phoenix | 4,045 | alhambracu.com |
| U-Haul Federal Credit UnionFederal | Phoenix | 3,785 | uhaulfedcu.com |
| Em Federal Credit UnionFederal | Mesa | 2,174 | truwest.org |
| Rim Country Federal Credit UnionFederal | Snowflake | 2,029 | rimcountryfcu.com |
| Winslow Santa Fe Credit UnionState-chartered | Winslow | 1,814 | wsfcu.net |
| Prescott Federal Credit UnionFederal | Prescott | 1,284 | prescottcu.com |
| Winslow School Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Winslow | 548 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Arizona
Other cities and towns in Arizona where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Douglas 1
- Sierra Vista 1
- Snowflake 1
- Willcox 1
- Winslow 2
Credit unions are listed in the city of their headquarters; many have branches in other cities and accept members from across the state or the country, so members per 100 people is an approximation.