An estimated 12 million Americans use payday lending, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. The research organization recently published an updated list of payday lending statistics that answer all the big questions for companies interested in the space.
Based on 2010 data, on average each of those 12 million Americans borrowed $375 over the course of the year, and paid $520 in interest. The average payday borrower takes out eight loans a year, each lasting 18 days — meaning the average payday loan borrower had an outstanding balance for five whole months.
Many payday borrowers use the web to access funds — roughly one in four, according to Pew’s research. And beyond the 12 million consumers who used payday lending in 2010, an estimated 5.5 percent of the U.S. population has taken out a payday loan at some point over the last five years.
In addition to its latest information release, Pew published an infographic to easily distribute the results of its latest payday lending research, embedded below.
