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 Tennessee
257 pawn shops in 96 cities and towns across Tennessee. Pick a city for the full list with addresses and phone numbers, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
Tennessee has about 6,978,472 residents, so that's 3.7 pawn shops per 100,000 people (U.S.: 2.7). For comparison, there are 8.1 payday, installment and title loan stores per 100,000 people in Tennessee.
- Pawn shops
- 257
- Cities & towns
- 96
- Pawn shops per 100k
- 3.7
- Loan stores
- 563
- List a phone
- 95.7%
- Have a website
- 75.9%
Pawn shops vs payday loan stores in Tennessee
Tennessee has 563 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 257 pawn shops.
Pawn shops
257
3.7 per 100k residents
Payday & loan stores
563
8.1 per 100k residents
13 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Tennessee: Advance Financial (104), TitleMax (93), Security Finance (67), OneMain Financial (51), Check Into Cash (42).
Borrowing $500 for one month: payday vs pawn vs credit union
| Option | How it works | Cost for one month |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan (~460% APR) | $75.00 fee every 2 weeks, renewed once | $150.00 |
| 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 Tennessee
- 2.5%
- Pawn cost, share of monthly household income in Tennessee
- 1.7%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.0 days of income
Payday: the TN maximum — $75 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 Tennessee 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 TN | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Tennessee | Pawnbrokers are licensed and regulated by Tennessee; fees, terms and holding periods are set by state law | Allowed, up to $500; typical APR ~460% |
Pawn shops by city in Tennessee
- Memphis · 30
- Nashville · 19
- Knoxville · 13
- Chattanooga · 8
- Clarksville · 8
- Cleveland · 7
- Crossville · 7
- Jackson · 6
- Murfreesboro · 5
- Gallatin · 4
- Johnson City · 4
- Morristown · 4
- Columbia · 3
- Lebanon · 3
- Maryville · 3
- Cookeville · 2
- Franklin · 2
- Mount Juliet · 2
- Smyrna · 2
- Antioch · 1
- Hendersonville · 1
- Kingsport · 1
- Sevierville · 1
Where pawn shops cluster in Tennessee
Cities ranked by pawn shops per 100,000 residents, with local median household income and poverty rate. Statewide: 3.7 per 100k, median income $71,256.
| City | Pawn shops | Per 100k people | Median income | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossville | 7 | 12.2 | $58,684 | 13.5% |
| Morristown | 4 | 7.6 | $49,981 | 19.0% |
| Cleveland | 7 | 7.1 | $63,951 | 13.4% |
| Jackson | 6 | 6.9 | $56,207 | 20.5% |
| Gallatin | 4 | 6.4 | $78,049 | 11.5% |
| Columbia | 3 | 4.5 | $69,467 | 11.8% |
| Memphis | 30 | 4.4 | $55,965 | 21.8% |
| Lebanon | 3 | 4.1 | $81,975 | 10.9% |
| Nashville | 19 | 4.0 | $82,142 | 14.2% |
| Johnson City | 4 | 3.9 | $55,298 | 19.0% |
| Clarksville | 8 | 3.9 | $73,218 | 11.8% |
| Chattanooga | 8 | 3.8 | $64,021 | 16.9% |
| Maryville | 3 | 3.4 | $76,251 | 8.1% |
| Smyrna | 2 | 3.1 | $79,720 | 10.8% |
| Knoxville | 13 | 3.1 | $71,857 | 14.4% |
Pawn shop chains in Tennessee
60 of the 257 pawn shops in Tennessee belong to a big chain; the rest are independent.
- Cash America Pawn 52
- EZPAWN 7
- Pawn Plus 1
Pawn shops in smaller towns of Tennessee
Other cities and towns in Tennessee with pawn shops, and the number of shops in each.
- Adamsville 1
- Alcoa 1
- Athens 4
- Atoka 3
- Bolivar 1
- Bristol 2
- Camden 1
- Carthage 1
- Centerville 1
- Clarkrange 1
- Clinton 2
- Covington 2
- Dayton 3
- Decatur 1
- Dickson 2
- Dover 1
- Dresden 1
- Dunlap 1
- Dyersburg 1
- Fayetteville 1
- Gainesboro 1
- Goodlettsville 1
- Greeneville 4
- Harriman 1
- Harrogate 1
- Helenwood 1
- Hermitage 1
- Hixson 3
- Humboldt 1
- Indian Mound 1
- Jasper 1
- Jefferson City 1
- Jellico 1
- Joelton 1
- La Follette 2
- La Vergne 1
- Lafayette 2
- Lawrenceburg 3
- Lenoir City 3
- Lewisburg 2
- Lexington 1
- Loudon 1
- Madison 3
- Madisonville 1
- Manchester 3
- Mcminnville 3
- Milan 1
- Millington 2
- Monteagle 1
- Newport 6
- Old Hickory 1
- Oneida 1
- Paris 2
- Pigeon Forge 1
- Piney Flats 1
- Pulaski 3
- Ripley 2
- Rockwood 2
- Rogersville 1
- Savannah 2
- Selmer 1
- Shelbyville 2
- Soddy Daisy 2
- South Pittsburg 2
- Sparta 1
- Springfield 2
- Sweetwater 2
- Tazewell 2
- Tullahoma 1
- Union City 1
- Waverly 1
- Winchester 2
- Woodbury 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.