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 New Mexico
37 credit unions are headquartered in New Mexico, with 1,143,823 members in total. 19 are federal credit unions and 18 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 37
- Members
- 1.1M
- Federal
- 19
- State-chartered
- 18
- Members per 100 people
- 54
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.8
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in New Mexico
New Mexico has 70 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 37 credit unions headquartered here — about 1.9 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 1,143,823 members — roughly 54 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
37
1.8 per 100k residents
1.1M members
Payday & loan stores
70
3.3 per 100k residents
10 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in New Mexico: Sun Loan Company (20), OneMain Financial (13), ACE Cash Express (7), Check 'n Go (7), TitleMax (7).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in New Mexico
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the New Mexico 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 New Mexico) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the New Mexico rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.7%
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 New Mexico
- Median household income
- $64,322
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.3 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 21.1%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 18.1%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for New Mexico are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in New Mexico
| Payday loan in NM | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Not allowed — storefront payday loans are banned | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Rate cap | Capped at 36% APR (2022 Law) | 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: New Mexico law as summarized on our New Mexico 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 New Mexico
Credit unions are headquartered in 20 cities and towns across New Mexico. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in New Mexico
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nusenda Federal Credit UnionFederal | Albuquerque | 295,895 | nusenda.org |
| Sunward Federal Credit UnionFederal | Albuquerque | 174,947 | gosunward.org |
| First Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Albuquerque | 99,409 | ffnm.org |
| U.S. Eagle Federal Credit UnionFederal | Albuquerque | 98,947 | useagle.org |
| Sandia Area Federal Credit UnionFederal | Albuquerque | 70,188 | sandia.org |
| Del Norte Credit UnionState-chartered | Los Alamos | 67,873 | dncu.com |
| State Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Santa Fe | 55,710 | secunm.org |
| Rio Grande Credit UnionState-chartered | Albuquerque | 50,834 | riograndecu.org |
| Kirtland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Albuquerque | 50,782 | kirtlandcu.org |
| Otero Federal Credit UnionFederal | Alamogordo | 33,841 | ofcu.com |
| Guadalupe Credit UnionState-chartered | Santa Fe | 31,561 | guadalupecu.org |
| White Sands Federal Credit UnionFederal | Las Cruces | 21,840 | wsfcu.org |
| Zia Credit UnionState-chartered | Los Alamos | 14,198 | ziacu.org |
| Artesia Credit UnionState-chartered | Artesia | 9,844 | artesiacu.org |
| Cannon Federal Credit UnionFederal | Clovis | 9,273 | cannonfcu.org |
| Estacado Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hobbs | 8,844 | estacadofcu.com |
| Financial Security Credit UnionState-chartered | Carlsbad | 5,139 | finseccu.com |
| Eddy Federal Credit UnionFederal | Carlsbad | 4,950 | eddyfederalcu.com |
| Four Corners Federal Credit UnionFederal | Kirtland | 4,634 | fourcornersfcu.org |
| Everyone's Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucumcari | 4,565 | everyonesfcu.com |
| Loco Credit UnionState-chartered | Alamogordo | 4,308 | lococreditunion.com |
| Railroad Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Belen | 3,660 | recu.org |
| Roswell Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Roswell | 3,550 | roswellcu.org |
| Chaves County School Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Roswell | 2,408 | ccsecunm.org |
| Los Alamos Schools Credit UnionState-chartered | Los Alamos | 2,221 | lascu.org |
| Questa Credit UnionState-chartered | Questa | 2,098 | questacreditunion.org |
| High Desert Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Aztec | 1,894 | highdesertcu.org |
| Jemez Valley Credit UnionState-chartered | Jemez Springs | 1,822 | jvcu.org |
| Northern New Mexico School Employee Federal Credit UnionFederal | Santa Fe | 1,606 | nnmsefcu.org |
| Cuba Credit UnionState-chartered | Cuba | 1,421 | cubacreditunion.org |
| Quay Schools Federal Credit UnionFederal | Tucumcari | 1,134 | — |
| Internationalites Federal Credit UnionFederal | Carlsbad | 1,058 | internationalites.com |
| Deming Schools Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Deming | 874 | dsecu.org |
| U-1st Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Carlsbad | 867 | u1stcommfcu.net |
| Rincones Presbyterian Credit UnionState-chartered | Chacon | 696 | rpcu.online |
| The Florist Federal Credit UnionFederal | Roswell | 671 | thefloristfcu.org |
| Mt Taylor Federal Credit UnionFederal | Milan | 261 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of New Mexico
Other cities and towns in New Mexico where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Alamogordo 2
- Artesia 1
- Aztec 1
- Belen 1
- Carlsbad 4
- Chacon 1
- Clovis 1
- Cuba 1
- Deming 1
- Jemez Springs 1
- Kirtland 1
- Los Alamos 3
- Milan 1
- Questa 1
- Tucumcari 2
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.