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Pawn Shops vs Payday Loans in Des Moines, IA
8 pawn shops in and around Des Moines — 3.6 per 100,000 residents, compared with 1.8 across Iowa. Call ahead to ask what they're buying and lending on today: inventory needs change weekly. Des Moines ranks #4 of 10 Iowa cities with pawn shops by shops per resident.
- Pawn shops
- 8
- Pawn shops per 100k
- 3.6
- Iowa: 1.8
- Big-chain shops
- 2
- Payday & loan stores
- 5
- Population
- 220,294
Pawn shops in Des Moines: addresses and phone numbers
| Pawn shop | Address | Phone | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Quality Pawn & Jewelry | 1135 Army Post Rd Des Moines, IA 50315 | (515) 953-4680 | qualitypawnandjewelry.com |
| A to Z Pawn | 200 Euclid Ave Des Moines, IA 50313 | (515) 245-9660 | atozpawniowa.com |
| EZPAWNChain | 3025 SE 14th St Des Moines, IA 50320 | (515) 280-6803 | ezpawn.com |
| EZPAWNChain | 3820 E 14th St Des Moines, IA 50313 | (515) 261-0306 | ezpawn.com |
| Solar Loan And Sales | 3311 Ingersoll Ave Des Moines, IA 50312 | (515) 244-7084 | solarpawn.com |
| The Pawn Specialist Inc. | 208 Army Post Rd Des Moines, IA 50315 | (515) 285-5715 | thepawnspecialist.com |
| The Pawn Store | 3005 Douglas Ave Des Moines, IA 50310 | (515) 277-4878 | pawnstoredm.com |
| Tony's Pawn | 2427 E University Ave Des Moines, IA 50317 | (515) 262-7296 | — |
Pawn shops vs payday loan stores in Des Moines
Des Moines has 8 pawn shops and 5 payday, installment and title loan stores.
Pawn shops
8
3.6 per 100k residents
Payday & loan stores
5
2.3 per 100k residents
3 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Des Moines: Check Into Cash (3), Advance America (1), OneMain Financial (1).
Borrowing $500 for one month: payday vs pawn vs credit union
| Option | How it works | Cost for one month |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan (~337% APR) | $55.00 fee every 2 weeks, renewed once | $110.00 |
| 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 Des Moines
- 2.0%
- Pawn cost, share of monthly household income in Des Moines
- 1.8%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.2 days of income
Payday: the IA maximum — $55 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 Iowa 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 IA | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Iowa | Pawnbrokers are licensed and regulated by Iowa; fees, terms and holding periods are set by state law | Allowed, up to $500; typical APR ~337% |
Des Moines at a glance
- Median household income
- $66,421
- Iowa: $76,204
- Poverty rate
- 14.5%
- Iowa: 11.1%
- Households under $25,000
- 16.3%
- Iowa: 14.2%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.2 days of income
Payday and installment loan stores in Des Moines
For comparison: storefront payday, installment and title lenders in Des Moines with addresses, phone numbers and hours.
| Address | Phone | Hours | Google rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Army Post Rd Des Moines, IA 50315 | (515) 287-9980 | — | 5.0 |
| 2584 Hubbell Ave Des Moines, IA 50317 | (515) 262-4233 | — | 4.9 |
| 4125A University Ave Ste A Des Moines, IA 50311 | (515) 255-2443 | — | 4.8 |
| 2480 E. Euclid Des Moines, IA 50317 | (515) 265-7100 | Mon–Fri 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Sat–Sun closed |
— |
| 6211 SE 14th St Des Moines, IA 50320 | (515) 287-4736 | — | 3.8 |
Pawn shops near Des Moines
More about Des Moines
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.