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 Wisconsin
48 pawn shops in 30 cities and towns across Wisconsin. Pick a city for the full list with addresses and phone numbers, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
Wisconsin has about 5,892,040 residents, so that's 0.8 pawn shops per 100,000 people (U.S.: 2.7). For comparison, there are 3.9 payday, installment and title loan stores per 100,000 people in Wisconsin.
- Pawn shops
- 48
- Cities & towns
- 30
- Pawn shops per 100k
- 0.8
- Loan stores
- 230
- List a phone
- 100.0%
- Have a website
- 85.4%
Pawn shops vs payday loan stores in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has 230 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 48 pawn shops.
Pawn shops
48
0.8 per 100k residents
Payday & loan stores
230
3.9 per 100k residents
12 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Wisconsin: Security Finance (44), Check 'n Go (41), OneMain Financial (28), Cash Store (23), Dollar Loan Center (19).
Borrowing $500 for one month: payday vs pawn vs credit union
| Option | How it works | Cost for one month |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan (~574%+ 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 Wisconsin
- 2.3%
- Pawn cost, share of monthly household income in Wisconsin
- 1.5%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.9 days of income
Payday: a typical fee of $75 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks, paid twice for a one-month loan (Wisconsin payday rules are not set in dollars or payday loans are not allowed). Pawn: an example rate of 20% a month; pawn fees and interest are set by Wisconsin 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.
Pawn loan vs payday loan: the key differences
| Pawn loan | Payday loan in WI | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Wisconsin | Pawnbrokers are licensed and regulated by Wisconsin; fees, terms and holding periods are set by state law | Allowed, up to No state limit; typical APR ~574%+ |
Pawn shops by city in Wisconsin
Where pawn shops cluster in Wisconsin
Cities ranked by pawn shops per 100,000 residents, with local median household income and poverty rate. Statewide: 0.8 per 100k, median income $78,208.
| City | Pawn shops | Per 100k people | Median income | Poverty rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | 4 | 4.7 | $70,093 | 12.3% |
| Janesville | 2 | 2.7 | $72,907 | 9.7% |
| Green Bay | 5 | 2.7 | $76,251 | 11.7% |
| Oshkosh | 2 | 2.5 | $71,883 | 13.8% |
| Wausau | 1 | 1.8 | $67,991 | 11.7% |
| Appleton | 2 | 1.6 | $82,431 | 7.0% |
| Madison | 3 | 1.0 | $76,348 | 16.9% |
| Kenosha | 1 | 0.9 | $71,200 | 13.4% |
| Racine | 1 | 0.8 | $67,844 | 13.0% |
| Milwaukee | 6 | 0.8 | $61,330 | 19.4% |
Pawn shop chains in Wisconsin
11 of the 48 pawn shops in Wisconsin belong to a big chain; the rest are independent.
- Pawn America 8
- EZPAWN 3
Pawn shops in smaller towns of Wisconsin
Other cities and towns in Wisconsin with pawn shops, and the number of shops in each.
- Ashland 1
- Black River Falls 1
- Cumberland 1
- Edgar 1
- Hales Corners 1
- Manitowoc 1
- Marshfield 1
- Menasha 1
- Menomonee Falls 1
- Necedah 1
- Nekoosa 1
- Oconto Falls 1
- Onalaska 1
- Pembine 1
- Rice Lake 1
- Schofield 1
- Shawano 1
- Stevens Point 2
- Whitewater 1
- Wisconsin Rapids 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.