One State Line Away: How Crossing a Border Changes the Same Loan
The same loan costs a different amount depending on which side of the state line you borrow from.
- 12 — state-border pairs compared
- 70.89 — largest gap across a border, $
- 48.98 — average gap across a border, $
- 27 — states where payday lending is banned or capped
- Nevada — Arizona — sharpest border
The numbers
Neighbouring states with different rules. A $300 loan for 14 days.
| Border | Cost on the left, $ | Cost on the right, $ | Difference, $ | Status left | Status right |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada — Arizona | 75.03 | 4.14 | 70.89 | allowed | installment_only |
| Idaho — Montana | 75.03 | 4.14 | 70.89 | allowed | banned |
| Utah — Colorado | 70.5 | 4.14 | 66.36 | allowed | installment_only |
| Texas — Arkansas | 66.3 | 1.96 | 64.34 | allowed | banned |
| Wisconsin — Minnesota | 68.4 | 5.75 | 62.65 | allowed | restricted |
| Missouri — Illinois | 61.5 | 4.14 | 57.36 | allowed | installment_only |
| Delaware — New Jersey | 60.0 | 3.45 | 56.55 | allowed | banned |
| Tennessee — North Carolina | 52.94 | 3.45 | 49.49 | allowed | banned |
| Kansas — Nebraska | 45.0 | 4.14 | 40.86 | allowed | banned |
| South Carolina — Georgia | 45.0 | 6.9 | 38.1 | allowed | banned |
| Mississippi — Alabama | 60.0 | 52.5 | 7.5 | allowed | allowed |
| Ohio — Pennsylvania | 0.0 | 2.76 | 2.76 | installment_only | banned |
How we counted
- We compare the same $300 / 14-day loan on either side of a state line.
- Pairs are neighbouring states with different rules.
Data updated 2026-07-31. Full dataset: data.csv.
Use this research
Free to cite, quote and chart — with attribution. Journalists and researchers are welcome to reuse the table and the dataset.
Citation: Nimblepayday, “One State Line Away: How Crossing a Border Changes the Same Loan”, 2026. Available at https://nimblepayday.com/research/one-state-line-away/