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 Kentucky
52 credit unions are headquartered in Kentucky, with 990,590 members in total. 36 are federal credit unions and 16 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 52
- Members
- 990,590
- Federal
- 36
- State-chartered
- 16
- Members per 100 people
- 22
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.2
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Kentucky
Kentucky has 136 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 52 credit unions headquartered here — about 2.6 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 990,590 members — roughly 22 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
52
1.2 per 100k residents
990,590 members
Payday & loan stores
136
3.0 per 100k residents
7 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Kentucky: OneMain Financial (36), Mariner Finance (28), Lendmark Financial Services (25), Advance America (19), 1st Franklin Financial (18).
What a $500 loan costs over 3 months
| Option | Payment | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan, re-borrowed 6 times (~391% APR) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $450.00 |
| Credit union PAL, 3 monthly payments (28% APR + $20 fee) | $174.50 a month | $43.51 |
- You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months
- $406.49 payday costs 10× more
Payday: the KY maximum — $75 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 Kentucky
- Median household income
- $65,382
- Payday fee of $75, share of two weeks' income
- 3.0%
- Hours of work to pay the $75 fee
- 4.5 hours
- PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income
- 3.2%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.2 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 19.8%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 16.2%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Kentucky are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Kentucky
| Payday loan in KY | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Allowed | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Loan amount | $500 | $200 – $2,000 |
| Fee limit | $15 per $100 advanced ($75) | Application fee up to $20 |
| Typical APR | ~391% | 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: Kentucky law as summarized on our Kentucky 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 Kentucky
Credit unions are headquartered in 24 cities and towns across Kentucky. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Kentucky
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Federal Credit UnionFederal | Frankfort | 144,367 | ccuky.org |
| L & N Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 121,597 | lnfcu.com |
| Abound Federal Credit UnionFederal | Radcliff | 115,025 | aboundcu.com |
| University of Kentucky Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lexington | 112,948 | ukfcu.org |
| Park Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 80,908 | parkcommunity.com |
| Members Heritage Credit UnionState-chartered | Lexington | 54,828 | membersheritage.org |
| Transcend Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 50,358 | transcendcu.com |
| Ashland Credit UnionState-chartered | Ashland | 46,592 | ashlandcu.org |
| Members Choice Credit UnionState-chartered | Ashland | 23,216 | mccu.net |
| Class Act Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 23,195 | classact.org |
| Signet Federal Credit UnionFederal | Paducah | 20,688 | signetfcu.com |
| Service One Credit UnionState-chartered | Bowling Green | 17,671 | socu.com |
| Autotruck Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 17,263 | ccuky.org |
| C-Plant Federal Credit UnionFederal | Paducah | 15,892 | cplant.com |
| The Health & Education Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lexington | 12,288 | thefcu.com |
| Lake Chem Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Benton | 12,058 | lakechemfcu.org |
| Advanz Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 9,375 | advanzcu.org |
| Greater Kentucky Credit Union, Inc.State-chartered | Lexington | 9,295 | gtkycu.com |
| Expree Credit UnionState-chartered | Frankfort | 8,986 | expree.org |
| Beacon Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 8,909 | beaconccu.org |
| Northern Kentucky Federal Credit UnionFederal | Highland Height | 6,790 | nkfcu.org |
| Cove Federal Credit UnionFederal | Edgewood | 6,390 | ukfcu.org |
| Owensboro Federal Credit UnionFederal | Owensboro | 6,071 | owensborofcu.org |
| Daviess County Teachers Federal Credit UnionFederal | Owensboro | 5,432 | dctfcu.com |
| Green River Area Federal Credit UnionFederal | Owensboro | 4,970 | greenriverafcu.com |
| Metro Plus Credit UnionState-chartered | Lexington | 4,685 | metroplus.org |
| Morehead Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Morehead | 4,442 | moreheadcommunity.com |
| Kemba Louisville Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 4,009 | kembaky.org |
| Arh Federal Credit UnionFederal | Middlesboro | 3,700 | arhfcu.org |
| Whitesville Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Whitesville | 2,810 | whitesvillecommunitycu.com |
| Labor Management Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewisport | 2,803 | lmfcu.net |
| Kue Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lexington | 2,760 | kuefcu.com |
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 2,717 | lgecu.org |
| Audubon Federal Credit UnionFederal | Owensboro | 2,567 | audubonfcu.net |
| W B H Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Paducah | 2,315 | wbhfcu.com |
| Old Kentucky Home Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bardstown | 2,251 | okhfcu.com |
| Louisville Federal Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 2,184 | louisvillefcu.com |
| Lexington Postal Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Lexington | 2,130 | lexpccu.com |
| Main Impact Federal Credit UnionFederal | Murray | 2,002 | mainimpactfcu.org |
| Bluegrass Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ashland | 1,861 | bluegrasscreditunion.com |
| K I T Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 1,844 | kitfcu.org |
| Your Hometown Federal Credit UnionFederal | Mayfield | 1,641 | yourhometownfcu.org |
| Doe Run Federal Credit UnionFederal | Brandenburg | 1,523 | doerunfcu.com |
| Regional Medical Ctr Hopkins Co Emp Federal Credit UnionFederal | Madisonville | 1,329 | rmcefcu.virtualcu.net |
| Brown-Forman Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Louisville | 1,303 | homecu.net |
| Kraftcor Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hawesville | 1,157 | kraftcorfcu.org |
| Msd Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 886 | louisvillemsd.org |
| F.C.I. Ashland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ashland | 742 | — |
| Corning Glass Works Harrodsbg Federal Credit UnionFederal | Harrodsburg | 658 | — |
| Shawnee Tva Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Paducah | 588 | — |
| Tayco Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | South Shore | 383 | — |
| Young Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Louisville | 188 | yccu.org |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Kentucky
Other cities and towns in Kentucky where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Ashland 4
- Bardstown 1
- Benton 1
- Brandenburg 1
- Edgewood 1
- Harrodsburg 1
- Hawesville 1
- Highland Height 1
- Lewisport 1
- Madisonville 1
- Mayfield 1
- Middlesboro 1
- Morehead 1
- Murray 1
- Radcliff 1
- South Shore 1
- West Paducah 1
- Whitesville 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.