How the Center for Responsible Lending's Payday Loan App Map Shows State-Level Impact

Updated

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) presents state-level payday loan app impact through an interactive map titled "The Cost of Payday Loan Apps in Your State." The map is designed to show how payday loan apps trap borrowers in a cycle of debt in each state, with particular attention to the way fees are extracted from borrowers who take out 25 or more loans a year. It is best understood as an advocacy and research visualization rather than a neutral rate comparison tool: its stated purpose is to illustrate borrower harm state by state.

What the map shows

According to CRL's description on responsiblelending.org, the interactive map:

  • Displays, for each state, how payday loan apps contribute to a cycle of debt.
  • Highlights that the bulk of fees are extracted from borrowers with 25 or more loans per year.
  • Frames the issue as a state-by-state consumer cost problem, not a single national average.

The page does not publish a per-state fee table in the excerpt available, so the specific dollar figures and rankings should be read directly from the interactive map itself rather than assumed.

How to read state-level impact

1. Identify the borrower segment being measured

The key unit of analysis is the frequent borrower — someone taking out 25 or more loans annually. CRL's framing is that this group bears most of the fee burden. When comparing states, look at whether the map reports costs for this group specifically, since a state with many occasional borrowers could look different from one with heavy repeat borrowing.

2. Compare fee extraction, not just loan volume

The map's stated focus is fees extracted from borrowers. A state with high loan counts but low fees per loan may rank differently from one with fewer loans and higher charges. Read the map's legend and any accompanying notes to see which measure is being displayed.

3. Use it to compare your state against others

The interactive format is intended to let readers see their own state alongside others. Practical steps:

  1. Open the map from the CRL homepage link "The Cost of Payday Loan Apps in Your State."
  2. Select your state to view its reported borrower cost profile.
  3. Compare with neighboring or similarly sized states to see relative burden.
  4. Note whether the map distinguishes storefront payday lending from app-based lending, since CRL treats app-based products as a distinct channel.

4. Pair it with CRL's related state research

The map sits alongside state-specific reports on the same site, such as the analysis of high-cost lenders using out-of-state "Rent-a-Bank" partnerships to evade North Carolina interest rate caps, and the Minnesota analysis noting a 220% APR on typical storefront payday loans before that state's 2024 rate cap. These give context for why a state's map figures look the way they do.

What the map does not tell you

  • It is not a live rate sheet. The page describes the map's purpose and findings but does not list current APRs or fees for every state in the text provided.
  • It does not establish that any product is free or available without login; no such claim appears in the source material.
  • It reflects CRL's research and advocacy perspective, so treat the framing as an argument about harm, supported by the organization's data, rather than a neutral market survey.

When this map is useful

Use the map if you want a quick, state-by-state visual of how payday loan app fees are described as falling on repeat borrowers, or if you are comparing your state's situation with others for research, journalism, or policy discussion. If you need precise current fee schedules or legal definitions of predatory lending, the map alone is not sufficient — follow the linked CRL reports and the relevant state regulator.