“Statistical significance on steroids” shows payday borrowers mostly lived in majority-Black ZIP codes.By Stephanie Zimmermann Nov 26, 2021, 5:00am CST
Share this story
- Share this on Facebook (opens in new window)
- Share this on Twitter (opens in new window)
- SHAREAll sharing options
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70194158/WATCHDOGS_11XX21_4.0.jpeg)
A loan store in the Ashburn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. An analysis of 2019 borrower data found an abundance of high-interest loans in majority Black neighborhoods. Industry groups say they lend money to people who don’t qualify for traditional bank loans. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Pointing out that high-interest loans proliferate in non-white Chicago neighborhoods is a bit like saying the sky is blue or the grass is green, but a consumer group says it’s proving it for the first time with hard numbers.
Using 2019 borrower loan data obtained from state regulators, the nonprofit Woodstock Institute found the top ZIP codes for payday loans, excluding the Loop, were majority-Black, including:
- 60619 and 60620 on the South Side, which include parts of Chatham, Burnside, Avalon Park and Greater Grand Crossing, Auburn Gresham and Washington Heights. Those ZIP codes had more than 16 payday loans per 100 people and are both 95.7% Black.
- 60624 on the West Side, which includes parts of West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park and which had 15.8 payday loans per 100 people. That ZIP code covers an area that’s 90.7% Black.
In contrast, ZIP codes with the lowest incidence of payday borrowers were mostly white, such as 60614 in Lincoln Park. That area had 1.1 payday loans per 100 people in a ZIP code that’s 84% white.
ZIP codes with the highest prevalence of payday loans per 100 residents in 2019
| Black | White | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60619 16.8 out of 100 residents | 96% | 2% | ||
| 60620 16.2 out of 100 residents | 96% | 2% | ||
| 60624 15.8 out of 100 residents | 91% | 4% | ||
| 60628 15.7 out of 100 residents | 93% | 5% | ||
| 60644 15.4 out of 100 residents | 89% | 6% | ||
| 60649 14.7 out of 100 residents | 93% | 4% | ||
| 60604 (Downtown) 14.5 out of 100 residents | 5% | 65% | ||
| 60636 13.8 out of 100 residents | 88% | 6% | ||
| 60621 13.7 out of 100 residents | 95% | 2% | ||
| 60653 12.4 out of 100 residents | 89% | 6% | ||
| 60651 12.1 out of 100 residents | 52% | 20% | ||
| 60637 11.6 out of 100 residents | 75% | 17% | ||
| 60643 11.3 out of 100 residents | 73% | 23% | ||
| 60612 10.3 out of 100 residents | 60% | 29% |
Source: An analysis of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation data by the Woodstock Institute and U.S. Census data
Graphic by Jesse Howe/Sun-Times
ZIP codes with the lowest prevalence of payday loans per 100 residents in 2019
| Black | White | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60614 1.2 out of 100 residents | 4% | 84% | ||
| 60661 1.2 out of 100 residents | 4% | 64% | ||
| 60603 (Downtown) 1.2 out of 100 residents | 4% | 63% | ||
| 60601 (Downtown) 1.2 out of 100 residents | 5% | 73% | ||
| 60611 1.3 out of 100 residents | 3% | 75% | ||
| 60657 1.4 out of 100 residents | 3% | 86% | ||
| 60646 1.5 out of 100 residents | 1% | 85% | ||
| 60631 1.6 out of 100 residents |