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 North Dakota
29 credit unions are headquartered in North Dakota, with 214,709 members in total. 13 are federal credit unions and 16 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 29
- Members
- 214,709
- Federal
- 13
- State-chartered
- 16
- Members per 100 people
- 28
- CUs per 100k people
- 3.7
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in North Dakota
North Dakota has 29 credit unions headquartered here and 4 payday, installment and title loan stores. Local credit unions count 214,709 members — roughly 28 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
29
3.7 per 100k residents
214,709 members
Payday & loan stores
4
0.5 per 100k residents
1 store chain
Biggest loan store chains in North Dakota: OneMain Financial (4).
What a $500 loan costs over 3 months
| Option | Payment | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan, re-borrowed 6 times (~521% APR) | $100.00 every 2 weeks | $600.00 |
| 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
- $556.49 payday costs 14× more
Payday: the ND maximum — $100 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 North Dakota
- Median household income
- $77,573
- Payday fee of $100, share of two weeks' income
- 3.4%
- Hours of work to pay the $100 fee
- 4.8 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
- 14.6%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 10.9%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for North Dakota are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in North Dakota
| Payday loan in ND | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Allowed | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Loan amount | $500 | $200 – $2,000 |
| Fee limit | 20% of amount advanced ($100) | Application fee up to $20 |
| Typical APR | ~521% | 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: North Dakota law as summarized on our North Dakota 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 North Dakota
Credit unions are headquartered in 14 cities and towns across North Dakota. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in North Dakota
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Jamestown | 46,705 | firstcommunitycu.com |
| Capital Credit UnionState-chartered | Bismarck | 32,476 | capcu.org |
| Town and Country Credit UnionState-chartered | Minot | 26,494 | townandcountry.org |
| North Star Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Maddock | 22,222 | nsccu.org |
| Western Cooperative Credit UnionState-chartered | Williston | 18,228 | wccu.org |
| Railway Credit UnionState-chartered | Mandan | 8,588 | railwaycu.com |
| Dakota West Credit UnionState-chartered | Watford City | 7,200 | dakotawestcu.com |
| United Savings Credit UnionState-chartered | Fargo | 7,161 | unitedsavingscu.org |
| Aspire Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Minot | 6,301 | aspire.creditunion |
| Dakota Plains Credit UnionState-chartered | Edgeley | 4,185 | dakotaplainscreditunion.com |
| Community Credit UnionState-chartered | New Rockford | 4,075 | community-credit-union.org |
| Vue Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Bismarck | 3,693 | vueccu.com |
| University Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Forks | 3,626 | universityfederalcu.org |
| Hometown Credit UnionState-chartered | Kulm | 3,372 | hometowncu.coop |
| Affinity First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Minot | 2,562 | affinityfcund.com |
| Fargo Public Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fargo | 2,349 | fpsfcu.com |
| Postal Family Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fargo | 2,249 | postalfamilyfcu.com |
| Riverfork Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Forks | 2,130 | riverforkfcu.org |
| Area Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Grand Forks | 1,895 | gfaccu.com |
| Fargo Va Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fargo | 1,493 | fargovafcu.org |
| Med Park Credit UnionState-chartered | Grand Forks | 1,487 | medparkcu.com |
| Northern Valley Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Forks | 1,467 | northernvalleyfcu.com |
| Cce Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fargo | 1,322 | affinityplus.org |
| Minot Area Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Minot | 1,175 | masfcu.com |
| Lamoure Credit UnionState-chartered | Lamoure | 1,122 | lamourecu.com |
| F.F.E. Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fargo | 442 | ffefcu.com |
| Tel-U-Watt Federal Credit UnionFederal | Minot | 341 | teluwatt.com |
| Lisbon Farmers Union Credit UnionState-chartered | Lisbon | 235 | — |
| Northern Sts Pwr Company Emp Federal Credit UnionFederal | Grand Forks | 114 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of North Dakota
Other cities and towns in North Dakota where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Edgeley 1
- Jamestown 1
- Kulm 1
- Lamoure 1
- Lisbon 1
- Maddock 1
- Mandan 1
- New Rockford 1
- Watford City 1
- Williston 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.