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 Utah
52 credit unions are headquartered in Utah, with 4,197,640 members in total. 32 are federal credit unions and 20 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 52
- Members
- 4.2M
- Federal
- 32
- State-chartered
- 20
- Members per 100 people
- 126
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.6
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Utah
Utah has 101 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 52 credit unions headquartered here — about 1.9 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 4,197,640 members — roughly 126 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
52
1.6 per 100k residents
4.2M members
Payday & loan stores
101
3.0 per 100k residents
11 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Utah: Check City (31), Security Finance (19), Check 'n Go (14), Dollar Loan Center (13), TitleMax (13).
What a $500 loan costs over 3 months
| Option | Payment | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan, re-borrowed 6 times (~652%+ 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: a typical fee of $75 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks (UT limits are not set in dollars), paid 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 Utah
- Median household income
- $95,410
- Payday fee of $75, share of two weeks' income
- 2.0%
- Hours of work to pay the $75 fee
- 3.8 hours
- PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income
- 2.2%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.5 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 9.1%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 8.7%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Utah are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Utah
| Payday loan in UT | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Allowed | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Loan amount | No state limit | $200 – $2,000 |
| Fee limit | No state limit (N/A) | Application fee up to $20 |
| Typical APR | ~652%+ | 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: Utah law as summarized on our Utah 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 Utah
Credit unions are headquartered in 31 cities and towns across Utah. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Utah
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| America First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Riverdale | 1,552,965 | americafirst.com |
| Mountain America Federal Credit UnionFederal | Sandy | 1,433,256 | macu.com |
| Utah Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Provo | 268,370 | uccu.com |
| Goldenwest Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ogden | 209,927 | gwcu.org |
| Cyprus Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Jordan | 162,120 | cypruscu.com |
| Canyon View Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 115,569 | canyonviewcu.com |
| Deseret First Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Valley Cit | 87,493 | dfcu.com |
| Utah First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 45,230 | utahfirst.com |
| Granite Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 40,620 | granite.org |
| Wasatch Peaks Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ogden | 31,964 | wasatchpeaks.com |
| Utah Power Credit UnionState-chartered | Murray | 30,908 | utahpowercu.org |
| Jordan Federal Credit UnionFederal | South Jordan | 25,750 | jordan-cu.org |
| American United Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Jordan | 21,084 | amucu.org |
| Alpine Credit UnionState-chartered | Orem | 19,839 | alpinecu.com |
| Elevate Federal Credit UnionFederal | Brigham City | 15,277 | elevate-cu.com |
| Members First Credit UnionState-chartered | Brigham City | 13,576 | memfirstcu.com |
| Eastern Utah Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Price | 12,689 | euccu.com |
| Horizon Utah Federal Credit UnionFederal | Farmington | 12,367 | myhorizoncu.com |
| Ascent Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ogden | 9,173 | ascentcu.com |
| Utah Heritage Credit UnionState-chartered | Moroni | 8,889 | utahheritagecu.org |
| Hercules First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 8,725 | herculescu.com |
| Pacific Horizon Credit UnionState-chartered | Springville | 8,664 | pacifichorizoncu.com |
| Desert Rivers Federal Credit UnionFederal | Moab | 8,499 | desertriverscu.com |
| San Juan Credit UnionState-chartered | Blanding | 4,808 | sanjuancu.com |
| Millard County Credit UnionState-chartered | Fillmore | 4,561 | millardccu.com |
| Freedom Credit UnionState-chartered | Provo | 4,437 | freedomcu.com |
| Kings Peak Credit UnionState-chartered | Roosevelt | 3,926 | kingspeakcu.com |
| Desertview Federal Credit UnionFederal | Huntington | 3,472 | dview.org |
| Firefighters Credit UnionState-chartered | Draper | 3,466 | firefighterscu.com |
| National J. A. C. L. Credit UnionState-chartered | Salt Lake City | 3,088 | njacl.com |
| Nephi Western Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Nephi | 2,916 | nephicreditunion.com |
| Lu 354 I B E W Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 2,640 | ibewfcu.org |
| Education 1st Credit UnionState-chartered | Ogden | 2,590 | e1cu.org |
| Hi-Land Credit UnionState-chartered | Salt Lake City | 2,376 | hilandcu.com |
| New Heights Federal Credit UnionFederal | Logan | 2,173 | nhfcu.com |
| P & S Credit UnionState-chartered | Salt Lake City | 2,156 | pandscu.org |
| Logan Medical Federal Credit UnionFederal | Logan | 1,979 | loganmedicalfcu.org |
| Devils Slide Federal Credit UnionFederal | Morgan | 1,773 | devilsslidefcu.org |
| Ridgeline Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 1,495 | ridgelinecu.com |
| Varex Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 1,138 | varexfederalcu.net |
| Gibbons and Reed Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salt Lake City | 1,040 | grcreditunion.com |
| Uintah Credit UnionState-chartered | Vernal | 929 | — |
| C U P Federal Credit UnionFederal | Provo | 791 | cupfcu.com |
| Hollyfrontier Employee's Credit UnionState-chartered | Bountiful | 689 | hfecu.net |
| S E A Credit UnionState-chartered | Richfield | 680 | — |
| Orem City Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Orem | 530 | orem.org |
| North Sanpete Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fairview | 346 | — |
| Flexpak Federal Credit UnionFederal | Woods Cross | 216 | flexpak.com |
| South Sanpete Credit UnionState-chartered | Manti | 196 | — |
| Valley Wide Federal Credit UnionFederal | Vernal | 151 | — |
| Presto Lewiston Employees Credit UnionState-chartered | Lewiston | 108 | — |
| Beckstrand and Associates Credit UnionState-chartered | Salt Lake City | 16 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Utah
Other cities and towns in Utah where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Blanding 1
- Bountiful 1
- Brigham City 2
- Fairview 1
- Farmington 1
- Fillmore 1
- Huntington 1
- Lewiston 1
- Manti 1
- Moab 1
- Morgan 1
- Moroni 1
- Murray 1
- Nephi 1
- Price 1
- Richfield 1
- Riverdale 1
- Roosevelt 1
- Springville 1
- Vernal 2
- West Valley Cit 1
- Woods Cross 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.