Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Louisiana

136 credit unions are headquartered in Louisiana, with 1,293,648 members in total. 113 are federal credit unions and 23 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.

Credit unions

136

Members

1.3M

Federal

113

State-chartered

23

Members per 100 people

28

CUs per 100k people

2.9

Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Louisiana

Louisiana has 232 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 136 credit unions headquartered here — about 1.7 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 1,293,648 members — roughly 28 memberships per 100 residents.

Biggest loan store chains in Louisiana: Security Finance (55), ACE Cash Express (41), 1st Franklin Financial (37), OneMain Financial (28), Advance America (25).

What a $350 loan costs over 3 months

You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months

$375.26 payday costs 11× more

Payday: the LA maximum — $68.62 on a $350 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 Louisiana

Median household income

$62,722

Payday fee of $68.62, share of two weeks' income

2.8%

Hours of work to pay the $68.62 fee

4.2 hours

PAL payment of $122.15, share of monthly income

2.3%

A $400 emergency equals

2.3 days of income

Households earning under $25,000

22.6%

Residents below the poverty line

19.0%

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

Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Louisiana

Payday rules: Louisiana law as summarized on our Louisiana 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 Louisiana

Credit unions are headquartered in 52 cities and towns across Louisiana. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.

• Baton Rouge · 17
• New Orleans · 17
• Lafayette · 11
• Shreveport · 10
• Metairie · 9
• Alexandria · 8
• Lake Charles · 6
• West Monroe · 3
• Houma · 2
• Monroe · 2
• Slidell · 2
• Bossier City · 1
• Covington · 1
• Denham Springs · 1
• Hammond · 1
• New Iberia · 1

All credit unions in Louisiana

Credit unions in smaller towns of Louisiana

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

• Abbeville 1
• Amite 2
• Barksdale Afb 1
• Bastrop 1
• Bogalusa 2
• Chalmette 1
• Chase 1
• Deridder 2
• Donaldsonville 1
• Farmerville 1
• Ferriday 1
• Franklin 2
• Franklinton 1
• Geismar 2
• Gonzales 1
• Greensburg 1
• Hahnville 1
• Harahan 2
• Jennings 1
• Lacombe 1
• Luling 1
• Lutcher 1
• Many 1
• Minden 1
• Morgan City 1
• Natchitoches 1
• Pineville 1
• Plaquemine 1
• Port Allen 1
• Rayne 1
• Rayville 1
• Saint Gabriel 1
• Springhill 1
• Sulphur 2
• Westlake 1
• Zachary 2