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 Colorado
62 credit unions are headquartered in Colorado, with 2,851,208 members in total. 30 are federal credit unions and 32 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 62
- Members
- 2.9M
- Federal
- 30
- State-chartered
- 32
- Members per 100 people
- 49
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.1
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Colorado
Colorado has 89 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 62 credit unions headquartered here — about 1.4 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 2,851,208 members — roughly 49 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
62
1.1 per 100k residents
2.9M members
Payday & loan stores
89
1.5 per 100k residents
9 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Colorado: ACE Cash Express (28), OneMain Financial (15), Check Into Cash (14), Advance America (10), Lendmark Financial Services (9).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in Colorado
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the Colorado 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 Colorado) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the Colorado rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.1%
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 Colorado
- Median household income
- $97,396
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.5 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 11.3%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 9.6%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Colorado are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Colorado
| Payday loan in CO | 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: Colorado law as summarized on our Colorado 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 Colorado
Credit unions are headquartered in 33 cities and towns across Colorado. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Colorado
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ent Credit UnionState-chartered | Colorado Spring | 948,633 | ent.com |
| Bellco Credit UnionState-chartered | Greenwood Villa | 352,265 | bellco.org |
| Canvas Credit UnionState-chartered | Lone Tree | 326,856 | canvas.org |
| Meritrust Credit UnionState-chartered | Broomfield | 209,548 | meritrustcu.org |
| Elevations Credit UnionState-chartered | Boulder | 180,272 | elevationscu.com |
| Credit Union of Colorado, AFederal | Denver | 169,602 | cuofco.org |
| Westerra Credit UnionState-chartered | Denver | 96,647 | westerracu.com |
| Credit Union of DenverState-chartered | Lakewood | 75,387 | cudenver.com |
| Air Academy Federal Credit UnionFederal | Colorado Spring | 43,990 | aacu.com |
| Sooper Credit Union Dba Climb Credit UnionState-chartered | Arvada | 43,156 | climbcu.org |
| Partner Colorado Credit UnionState-chartered | Arvada | 35,263 | partnercoloradocu.org |
| Denver Community Credit Union D.B.A. Zing Credit UnionState-chartered | Denver | 30,006 | myzing.com |
| Colorado Credit UnionState-chartered | Littleton | 27,309 | ccu.org |
| On Tap Credit UnionState-chartered | Golden | 19,362 | ontapcu.org |
| Red Rocks Credit UnionState-chartered | Littleton | 18,210 | redrocks.org |
| Power Credit UnionState-chartered | Pueblo | 14,567 | powercreditunion.com |
| Affidian Federal Credit UnionFederal | Denver | 14,217 | affidiancu.org |
| Space Age Credit UnionState-chartered | Aurora | 13,418 | spaceagefcu.coop |
| Clean Energy Federal Credit UnionFederal | Englewood | 13,256 | cleanenergycu.org |
| Fitzsimons Federal Credit UnionFederal | Aurora | 12,964 | fitzsimonscu.com |
| Minnequa Works Credit UnionState-chartered | Pueblo | 12,837 | mymwcu.com |
| Coloramo Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Junction | 12,770 | coloramo.org |
| Sunwest Credit UnionState-chartered | Pueblo | 12,151 | sunwestecu.com |
| Foothills Credit UnionState-chartered | Wheat Ridge | 11,152 | foothills-cu.com |
| Sterling Federal Credit UnionFederal | Sterling | 10,321 | sterlingcreditunion.org |
| Pikes Peak Credit UnionState-chartered | Colorado Spring | 9,896 | pikespeakcu.com |
| Arapahoe Credit UnionState-chartered | Littleton | 9,544 | arapahoecu.org |
| Credit Union of the RockiesState-chartered | Golden | 8,011 | cu-rockies.org |
| Aurora Federal Credit UnionFederal | Aurora | 7,432 | auroracu.com |
| Fellowship Credit UnionState-chartered | Lamar | 7,382 | fellowshipcu.com |
| Nuvista Federal Credit UnionFederal | Montrose | 7,156 | nuvista.org |
| Weld Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Greeley | 7,155 | weldccu.com |
| Grand Junction Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Junction | 6,909 | grandjunctionfcu.org |
| Horizons North Credit UnionState-chartered | Westminster | 6,718 | hncu.org |
| Columbine Federal Credit UnionFederal | Centennial | 6,580 | columbinefcu.org |
| Denver Fire Department Federal Credit UnionFederal | Denver | 6,275 | dfdfcu.com |
| The District Federal Credit UnionFederal | Aurora | 5,994 | districtcreditunion.com |
| Metrum Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Centennial | 5,815 | metrum.org |
| Rio Grande Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Junction | 4,910 | riograndefcu.org |
| Fidelis Catholic Federal Credit UnionFederal | Arvada | 4,617 | fideliscu.org |
| Delta County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Delta | 4,327 | deltacountyfcu.com |
| Electrical Federal Credit UnionFederal | Arvada | 4,063 | electricalfcu.org |
| Guadalupe Parish Credit UnionState-chartered | Antonito | 3,776 | guadalupeparishcu.org |
| Peoples Credit UnionState-chartered | Springfield | 3,578 | peoples-cu.com |
| San Juan Mountains Credit UnionState-chartered | Montrose | 3,339 | sjmtnscu.com |
| Northern Colorado Credit UnionState-chartered | Greeley | 3,120 | nococu.org |
| Westminster Federal Credit UnionFederal | Westminster | 3,027 | wfcu.com |
| Holyoke Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Holyoke | 2,947 | hcfcu.org |
| Pueblo Government Agencies Federal Credit UnionFederal | Pueblo | 2,939 | pgafcu.org |
| Yuma County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Yuma | 2,364 | ycfcu.com |
| Star Tech Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenwood Villa | 1,594 | star-techfcu.com |
| School District 3 Federal Credit UnionFederal | Colorado Spring | 1,590 | sd3fcu.org |
| One Thirteen Credit UnionState-chartered | Colorado Spring | 1,016 | 113creditunion.com |
| Valley Educators Credit UnionState-chartered | Alamosa | 1,009 | vecuslv.com |
| Moffat County Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Craig | 805 | moffatsd.org |
| Rio Blanco Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rangely | 786 | rioblancoschoolsfcu.org |
| Co-NE Federal Credit UnionFederal | Julesburg | 677 | co-nefcu.net |
| Options Credit UnionState-chartered | Littleton | 557 | optionscreditunion.com |
| Fort Morgan Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fort Morgan | 445 | — |
| Olathe Federal Credit UnionFederal | Olathe | 279 | — |
| Akron Federal Credit UnionFederal | Akron | 234 | — |
| St. Michaels Federal Credit UnionFederal | Craig | 183 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Colorado
Other cities and towns in Colorado where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Akron 1
- Alamosa 1
- Antonito 1
- Centennial 2
- Colorado Spring 5
- Craig 2
- Delta 1
- Fort Morgan 1
- Greenwood Villa 2
- Holyoke 1
- Julesburg 1
- Lakewood 1
- Lamar 1
- Lone Tree 1
- Montrose 2
- Olathe 1
- Rangely 1
- Springfield 1
- Sterling 1
- Wheat Ridge 1
- Yuma 1
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.