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Pawn Shops vs Payday Loans in California
535 pawn shops in 193 cities and towns across California. Pick a city for the full list with addresses and phone numbers, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
California has about 39,241,220 residents, so that's 1.4 pawn shops per 100,000 people (U.S.: 2.7). For comparison, there are 1.6 payday, installment and title loan stores per 100,000 people in California.
- Pawn shops
- 535
- Cities & towns
- 193
- Pawn shops per 100k
- 1.4
- Loan stores
- 617
- List a phone
- 99.1%
- Have a website
- 89.7%
Pawn shops vs payday loan stores in California
California has 617 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 535 pawn shops.
Pawn shops
535
1.4 per 100k residents
Payday & loan stores
617
1.6 per 100k residents
10 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in California: ACE Cash Express (153), OneMain Financial (111), Oportun (93), Advance America (72), Lendmark Financial Services (57).
Borrowing $300 for one month: payday vs pawn vs credit union
| Option | How it works | Cost for one month |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan (~460% APR) | $45.00 fee every 2 weeks, renewed once | $90.00 |
| Pawn loan (example: 20% a month) | You leave an item worth more than the loan; repay to get it back | $60.00 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR + $20 fee) | Repaid in installments; membership required | $27.00 |
- Payday cost, share of monthly household income in California
- 1.1%
- Pawn cost, share of monthly household income in California
- 0.7%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.4 days of income
Payday: the CA maximum — $45 on a $300 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 California 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 CA | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 California | Pawnbrokers are licensed and regulated by California; fees, terms and holding periods are set by state law | Allowed, up to $300; typical APR ~460% |
Pawn shops by city in California
- Los Angeles · 48
- San Diego · 36
- Sacramento · 15
- Fresno · 9
- Norwalk · 9
- Escondido · 8
- Huntington Park · 8
- Bakersfield · 7
- Lancaster · 7
- Van Nuys · 7
- Costa Mesa · 6
- Glendale · 6
- National City · 6
- Anaheim · 5
- El Cajon · 5
- Hesperia · 5
- Long Beach · 5
- North Hollywood · 5
- Ontario · 5
- Riverside · 5
- San Francisco · 5
- Chula Vista · 4
- Gardena · 4
- Modesto · 4
- Pacoima · 4
- Palmdale · 4
- Pomona · 4
- Torrance · 4
- Ventura · 4
- Victorville · 4
- West Covina · 4
- Apple Valley · 3
- Azusa · 3
- El Monte · 3
- Garden Grove · 3
- Hemet · 3
- Huntington Beach · 3
- Inglewood · 3
- La Habra · 3
- Menifee · 3
- Moreno Valley · 3
- Murrieta · 3
- Oakland · 3
- Oceanside · 3
- Oroville · 3
- Oxnard · 3
- Pasadena · 3
- Redding · 3
- Redlands · 3
- Rialto · 3
- San Bernardino · 3
- San Jose · 3
- Santa Rosa · 3
- Simi Valley · 3
- Vista · 3
- Westminster · 3
- Whittier · 3
- Wilmington · 3
- Yucaipa · 3
- Baldwin Park · 2
- Bell Gardens · 2
- Bellflower · 2
- Camarillo · 2
- Canoga Park · 2
- Cathedral City · 2
- Chico · 2
- Compton · 2
- Fairfield · 2
- Fontana · 2
- Hanford · 2
- Hayward · 2
- Highland · 2
- Lake Elsinore · 2
- Lynwood · 2
- North Hills · 2
- Palm Desert · 2
- Panorama City · 2
- Placentia · 2
- Reseda · 2
- Salinas · 2
- San Mateo · 2
- San Pedro · 2
- Santa Ana · 2
- Santa Barbara · 2
- Santa Monica · 2
- Stockton · 2
- Temecula · 2
- Tulare · 2
- Upland · 2
- Vacaville · 2
- Visalia · 2
- Woodland Hills · 2
- Antioch · 1
- Arcadia · 1
- Beaumont · 1
- Brentwood · 1
- Canyon Country · 1
- Chino · 1
- Citrus Heights · 1
- Clovis · 1
- Corona · 1
- Covina · 1
- Delano · 1
- Elk Grove · 1
- Fullerton · 1
- Indio · 1
- Jurupa Valley · 1
- Lodi · 1
- Madera · 1
- Manteca · 1
- Merced · 1
- Milpitas · 1
- Newport Beach · 1
- Perris · 1
- Petaluma · 1
- Pleasanton · 1
- Porterville · 1
- Redwood City · 1
- Rosemead · 1
- Roseville · 1
- San Jacinto · 1
- San Leandro · 1
- San Marcos · 1
- San Rafael · 1
- Santa Clara · 1
- Santa Cruz · 1
- Santa Maria · 1
- Spring Valley · 1
- Sunnyvale · 1
- Sylmar · 1
- Tracy · 1
- Turlock · 1
- Tustin · 1
- Vallejo · 1
- Watsonville · 1
- West Sacramento · 1
- Yuba City · 1
Where pawn shops cluster in California
Cities ranked by pawn shops per 100,000 residents, with local median household income and poverty rate. Statewide: 1.4 per 100k, median income $102,369.
| City | Pawn shops | Per 100k people | Median income | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington Park | 8 | 11.4 | $61,376 | 17.1% |
| National City | 6 | 10.5 | $63,858 | 14.3% |
| Norwalk | 9 | 8.9 | $98,709 | 9.8% |
| Oroville | 3 | 6.0 | $59,551 | 18.7% |
| Wilmington | 3 | 5.6 | $61,440 | 19.0% |
| Yucaipa | 3 | 5.5 | $94,718 | 8.8% |
| Costa Mesa | 6 | 5.4 | $110,757 | 8.9% |
| Azusa | 3 | 4.9 | $87,577 | 11.8% |
| Gardena | 4 | 4.7 | $78,303 | 11.3% |
| Hesperia | 5 | 4.6 | $72,414 | 16.8% |
| Escondido | 8 | 4.5 | $89,254 | 12.3% |
| La Habra | 3 | 4.4 | $102,208 | 9.1% |
| Van Nuys | 7 | 4.1 | $71,632 | 18.3% |
| Pacoima | 4 | 4.0 | $82,025 | 16.9% |
| Cathedral City | 2 | 3.8 | $67,031 | 15.3% |
Pawn shop chains in California
2 of the 535 pawn shops in California belong to a big chain; the rest are independent.
- Superpawn 1
- Pawn Plus 1
Pawn shops in smaller towns of California
Other cities and towns in California with pawn shops, and the number of shops in each.
- Atascadero 1
- Atwater 1
- Auburn 1
- Banning 2
- Barstow 1
- Beverly Hills 8
- Bloomington 1
- Blythe 1
- Brea 1
- Calexico 3
- Capistrano Beach 1
- Crestline 1
- Culver City 3
- Del Mar 1
- Desert Hot Springs 2
- Diamond Springs 1
- El Centro 3
- El Cerrito 1
- El Sobrante 1
- Eureka 1
- Farmersville 1
- Grover Beach 1
- Hawaiian Gardens 4
- Las Vegas 1
- Lawndale 4
- Lemon Grove 1
- Lockeford 1
- Marysville 1
- Mentone 2
- Millbrae 1
- Mission Hills 1
- Monrovia 1
- Morongo Valley 1
- Norco 1
- Oakdale 1
- Orangevale 1
- Palm Springs 2
- Phelan 1
- Pleasant Hill 1
- Ramona 1
- Red Bluff 1
- Redwood Valley 1
- Rohnert Park 1
- San Fernando 1
- San Ysidro 5
- Seaside 1
- Solvang 1
- Stanton 3
- Studio City 1
- Sun Valley 2
- Temple City 1
- Ukiah 1
- Valley Center 2
- Venice 1
- Winnetka 1
- Yucca Valley 2
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.