How many Americans use payday loans each year?

Our 2026 estimate is 12.3 million U.S. adults — roughly 4.7% of the adult population — took at least one payday loan in the past 12 months.

Which states have the highest payday-loan usage?

Usage is concentrated in the South. Mississippi (8.4%), Louisiana (7.9%), and Alabama (7.5%) lead the country, all of which permit payday lending without an APR cap.

Are payday loans legal in all 50 states?

No. 20 states plus DC cap consumer APR at 36% or lower, which makes traditional payday lending economically infeasible. 27 states explicitly authorize payday lending.

Can I cite this study?

Yes — citation is free with attribution to CashCompassPro Research and a link back to this page.

State of Payday Lending in America 2026 — CashCompassPro Data Study

Name: Share of U.S. adults who used a payday loan in the past year, by region
Creator: CashCompassPro

State of Payday Lending in America 2026

A 50-state look at how legal status and rate caps shape the $30B payday-loan market.

Download PDF report

12.3M

U.S. adults who took at least one payday loan in the last 12 months

Key findings

20 states + DC cap consumer APR at 36% or lower; payday loans are economically infeasible there.
27 states explicitly authorize payday lending with industry-favorable rate structures.
Average storefront APR in permissive states held at 391% — unchanged since 2020.
Online lending grew to 64% of new originations as storefront counts declined 4 years running.

Share of U.S. adults who used a payday loan in the past year, by region

South

6.1%

Midwest

4.2%

West

3.8%

Northeast

2.4%

Top 10 states by payday-loan usage rate

Rank	State	Adults using payday loans (last 12 mo)	Legal status
1	Mississippi	8.4%	Legal, no cap
2	Louisiana	7.9%	Legal, no cap
3	Alabama	7.5%	Legal, no cap
4	Oklahoma	7.1%	Legal, no cap
5	South Carolina	6.8%	Legal, no cap
6	Tennessee	6.5%	Legal, no cap
7	Texas	6.3%	Legal via CAB model
8	Missouri	6.1%	Legal, no cap
9	Nevada	5.9%	Legal, no cap
10	Ohio	5.4%	Legal, 28% cap (PAL)

What it means

Usage tracks legality, not income — states that cap APR at 36% drive usage to credit unions and PALs.
Online APR is, on average, 28 percentage points lower than storefront APR in the same state.
Rollover rates fell where state law restricted them; total fees per borrower dropped 18% in those markets.

Methodology

CashCompassPro compiled state statute references, NCSL summaries, CFPB market reports, and 2024–2025 borrower survey data (n=4,812). Adult-population estimates use 2024 U.S. Census ACS data.

Sources

Cite this study

CashCompassPro Research (2026). State of Payday Lending in America 2026. Retrieved from cashcompasspro.com/studies/state-of-payday-lending-2026.