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.
Pawn Shops vs Payday Loans in Alabama
235 pawn shops in 87 cities and towns across Alabama. Pick a city for the full list with addresses and phone numbers, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
Alabama has about 5,054,137 residents, so that's 4.6 pawn shops per 100,000 people (U.S.: 2.7). For comparison, there are 7.5 payday, installment and title loan stores per 100,000 people in Alabama.
- Pawn shops
- 235
- Cities & towns
- 87
- Pawn shops per 100k
- 4.6
- Loan stores
- 378
- List a phone
- 98.3%
- Have a website
- 77.4%
Pawn shops vs payday loan stores in Alabama
Alabama has 378 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 235 pawn shops.
Pawn shops
235
4.6 per 100k residents
Payday & loan stores
378
7.5 per 100k residents
14 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Alabama: TitleMax (87), 1st Franklin Financial (50), Security Finance (48), Advance America (42), OneMain Financial (38).
Borrowing $500 for one month: payday vs pawn vs credit union
| Option | How it works | Cost for one month |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan (~456% APR) | $87.50 fee every 2 weeks, renewed once | $175.00 |
| Pawn loan (example: 20% a month) | You leave an item worth more than the loan; repay to get it back | $100.00 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR + $20 fee) | Repaid in installments; membership required | $31.67 |
- Payday cost, share of monthly household income in Alabama
- 3.2%
- Pawn cost, share of monthly household income in Alabama
- 1.8%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.2 days of income
Payday: the AL maximum — $87.50 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks, paid twice for a one-month loan. Pawn: an example rate of 20% a month; pawn fees and interest are set by Alabama law and vary by shop — ask for the total in writing. PAL: payday alternative loan from a federal credit union, capped at 28% APR plus an application fee of up to $20. Income: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Pawn loan vs payday loan: the key differences
| Pawn loan | Payday loan in AL | |
|---|---|---|
| What you need | An item of value (jewelry, gold, electronics, tools, firearms) and an ID | A bank account, proof of income and an ID |
| Credit check | None | Usually none |
| How much you get | A fraction of the item's resale value | Based on your income, up to the state limit |
| If you can't repay | The shop keeps the item; no collections and no credit damage | Fees pile up with renewals; the debt can go to collections |
| Bank account access | None | Lender can debit your account or cash your check |
| Rules in Alabama | Pawnbrokers are licensed and regulated by Alabama; fees, terms and holding periods are set by state law | Allowed, up to $500; typical APR ~456% |
Pawn shops by city in Alabama
Where pawn shops cluster in Alabama
Cities ranked by pawn shops per 100,000 residents, with local median household income and poverty rate. Statewide: 4.6 per 100k, median income $65,640.
| City | Pawn shops | Per 100k people | Median income | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dothan | 7 | 8.1 | $57,050 | 19.1% |
| Gadsden | 5 | 7.6 | $52,366 | 19.0% |
| Decatur | 5 | 7.4 | $63,373 | 12.5% |
| Bessemer | 5 | 6.7 | $60,201 | 20.0% |
| Montgomery | 12 | 5.8 | $56,642 | 20.6% |
| Daphne | 3 | 5.4 | $99,066 | 6.0% |
| Athens | 3 | 5.0 | $74,404 | 13.3% |
| Mobile | 13 | 4.9 | $56,909 | 18.5% |
| Phenix City | 3 | 4.8 | $55,119 | 20.8% |
| Florence | 3 | 4.6 | $55,460 | 16.4% |
| Birmingham | 23 | 4.6 | $77,536 | 15.9% |
| Huntsville | 9 | 4.2 | $73,514 | 14.6% |
| Madison | 3 | 3.3 | $118,679 | 4.2% |
| Auburn | 2 | 2.6 | $52,707 | 26.6% |
| Tuscaloosa | 3 | 2.3 | $56,951 | 22.6% |
Pawn shop chains in Alabama
27 of the 235 pawn shops in Alabama belong to a big chain; the rest are independent.
- Cash America Pawn 11
- EZPAWN 6
- Superpawn 4
- Complete Cash 3
- Lending Bear 3
Pawn shops in smaller towns of Alabama
Other cities and towns in Alabama with pawn shops, and the number of shops in each.
- Alabaster 1
- Albertville 3
- Alexander City 1
- Aliceville 1
- Andalusia 1
- Anniston 5
- Arab 4
- Ashland 2
- Atmore 2
- Attalla 1
- Bay Minette 1
- Blountsville 1
- Boaz 1
- Brewton 2
- Calera 2
- Centre 2
- Childersburg 1
- Clanton 2
- Columbiana 1
- Cullman 3
- Daleville 2
- Enterprise 3
- Eufaula 1
- Fayette 2
- Foley 5
- Fort Payne 1
- Gardendale 1
- Grand Bay 1
- Greenville 1
- Guin 1
- Gulf Shores 1
- Guntersville 2
- Haleyville 1
- Hamilton 1
- Hartselle 1
- Hazel Green 1
- Heflin 1
- Jackson 1
- Jasper 5
- Killen 1
- Loxley 2
- Luverne 1
- Millbrook 1
- Monroeville 1
- Moody 1
- Moulton 2
- Munford 2
- Muscle Shoals 4
- Northport 3
- Oneonta 2
- Opelika 2
- Ozark 4
- Pelham 2
- Pell City 2
- Prattville 2
- Rainsville 3
- Russellville 1
- Saraland 2
- Scottsboro 5
- Section 1
- Selma 1
- Semmes 3
- Sheffield 2
- Sumiton 2
- Sylacauga 3
- Talladega 2
- Tallassee 1
- Theodore 3
- Toney 1
- Troy 2
- Wetumpka 2
- Winfield 1
Pawn shop listings: © Overture Maps Foundation (CDLA-Permissive 2.0), including Foursquare OS Places and © OpenStreetMap contributors; filtered and de-duplicated by us. Population, income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Call ahead to confirm hours and what a shop buys or lends on.