Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Tennessee

126 credit unions are headquartered in Tennessee, with 2,719,434 members in total. 56 are federal credit unions and 70 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.

Credit unions

126

Members

2.7M

Federal

56

State-chartered

70

Members per 100 people

39

CUs per 100k people

1.8

Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Tennessee

Tennessee has 563 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 126 credit unions headquartered here — about 4.5 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 2,719,434 members — roughly 39 memberships per 100 residents.

Biggest loan store chains in Tennessee: Advance Financial (104), TitleMax (93), Security Finance (67), OneMain Financial (51), Check Into Cash (42).

What a $500 loan costs over 3 months

You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months

$406.49 payday costs 10× more

Payday: the TN 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 Tennessee

Median household income

$71,256

Payday fee of $75, share of two weeks' income

2.7%

Hours of work to pay the $75 fee

4.2 hours

PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income

2.9%

A $400 emergency equals

2.0 days of income

Households earning under $25,000

17.1%

Residents below the poverty line

13.9%

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

Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Tennessee

Payday rules: Tennessee law as summarized on our Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Credit unions are headquartered in 48 cities and towns across Tennessee. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.

• Nashville · 17
• Memphis · 15
• Chattanooga · 13
• Knoxville · 11
• Cleveland · 5
• Cordova · 4
• Jackson · 4
• Kingsport · 4
• Johnson City · 3
• Brentwood · 2
• Clarksville · 2
• Collierville · 1
• Cookeville · 1
• Crossville · 1
• Franklin · 1
• Gallatin · 1
• Maryville · 1
• Sevierville · 1
• Smyrna · 1
• Spring Hill · 1

All credit unions in Tennessee

Credit unions in smaller towns of Tennessee

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

• Alcoa 2
• Athens 1
• Atoka 1
• Bartlett 2
• Bristol 1
• Calhoun 1
• Camden 1
• Charleston 1
• Collegedale 1
• Copperhill 1
• Counce 1
• Elizabethton 2
• Erwin 1
• Greeneville 4
• Hermitage 1
• Hixson 1
• Lawrenceburg 1
• Loudon 1
• Louisville 1
• Lynchburg 1
• Martin 1
• New Johnsonvill 1
• Oak Ridge 4
• Paris 1
• Savannah 1
• Shelbyville 1
• Springfield 1
• Tullahoma 1