Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Iowa

66 credit unions are headquartered in Iowa, with 1,647,790 members in total. 1 are federal credit unions and 65 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.

Credit unions

66

Members

1.6M

Federal

1

State-chartered

65

Members per 100 people

52

CUs per 100k people

2.1

Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Iowa

Iowa has 66 credit unions headquartered here and 34 payday, installment and title loan stores. Local credit unions count 1,647,790 members — roughly 52 memberships per 100 residents.

Biggest loan store chains in Iowa: OneMain Financial (13), Advance America (11), Check Into Cash (9), Check 'n Go (1).

What a $500 loan costs over 3 months

You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months

$286.49 payday costs 8× more

Payday: the IA maximum — $55 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks, paid again each time the loan is renewed or taken out again (6 times in 3 months). PAL: payday alternative loan from a federal credit union, capped at 28% APR with an application fee of up to $20.

What it means for a household in Iowa

Median household income

$76,204

Payday fee of $55, share of two weeks' income

1.9%

Hours of work to pay the $55 fee

2.8 hours

PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income

2.7%

A $400 emergency equals

1.9 days of income

Households earning under $25,000

14.2%

Residents below the poverty line

11.1%

Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Iowa are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.

Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Iowa

Payday rules: Iowa law as summarized on our Iowa 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 Iowa

Credit unions are headquartered in 34 cities and towns across Iowa. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.

• Des Moines · 8
• Cedar Rapids · 6
• Dubuque · 5
• Waterloo · 3
• Ames · 2
• Sioux City · 2
• West Des Moines · 2
• Council Bluffs · 1
• Davenport · 1

All credit unions in Iowa

Credit unions in smaller towns of Iowa

Other cities and towns in Iowa where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.

• Bettendorf 1
• Burlington 2
• Camanche 1
• Cedar Falls 2
• Centerville 1
• Charles City 1
• Cherokee 1
• Clinton 1
• Estherville 1
• Fort Dodge 2
• Fort Madison 1
• Hiawatha 1
• Humboldt 1
• Jesup 1
• Johnston 1
• Keokuk 2
• Marshalltown 2
• Mason City 5
• Mount Pleasant 1
• Muscatine 1
• Newton 1
• North Liberty 1
• Ottumwa 3
• Urbandale 1
• Webster City 1