Perspectives from Main Street: Bank Branch Access in Rural Communities
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Figure 1. Counties deeply affected by bank branch closures
The map of the continental U.S. shows the urban and rural counties that were deeply affected by brank branch closures between 2012 and 2017. Deeply affected means a county that had 10 or fewer branches in 2012 and lost at least 50 percent of those branches by 2017. The following urban counties were deeply affected: Marion County, Georgia; Gadsden County, Florida; Butte County, Idaho; Storey County, Nevada; Caroline County, Virginia. The following rural were deeply affected: Greenlee County, Arizona; Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, and Saguache counties, Colorado; Glades, Hamilton, Liberty, and Madison counties, Florida; Calhoun, Hancock, Quitman, Stewart, and Wheeler counties, Georgia; Pope County, Illinois; Jay and Pike counties, Indiana; Livingston and Nicholas counties, Kentucky; Missaukee County, Michigan; Noxubee County, Mississippi; Worth County, Missouri; Grant and Hooker counties, Nebraska; Lincoln and Mineral counties, Nevada; Mora County, New Mexico; Bertie, Mitchell, and Northampton counties, North Carolina; Benson County, North Dakota; Allendale County, South Carolina; Clark County, South Dakota; Meigs County, Tennessee; Cochran County, Texas; Emery County, Utah; Bland, Lunenburg, and Surry counties, Virginia.
Figure 2. Methods households used to access a bank account in the past 12 months
| Method | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branch | 79 | 76 | 74 |
| ATM | 70 | 70 | 72 |
| Online | 55 | 60 | 63 |
| Mobile | 23 | 32 | 40 |
| Telephone | 26 | 27 | 29 |
Figure 3. Most frequently used method of accessing bank account
| Method | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branch | 32 | 28 | 24 |
| ATM | 24 | 21 | 20 |
| Online | 33 | 37 | 36 |
| Mobile | 6 | 10 | 16 |
| Telephone | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Figure 4. Branch as most frequently used method of accessing an account
| Branch user, by category | 2013 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ||
| 15-44 | 20% | 12% |
| 45-64 | 31% | 23% |
| 65+ | 55% | 45% |
| Income | ||
| < $40,000 | 43% | 36% |
| $40,000-$99,999 | 28% | 22% |
| $100,000 + | 18% | 12% |
| Education | ||
| Less than high school | 56% | 46% |
| High school | 42% | 34% |
| Some college | 30% | 23% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 21% | 15% |
| Metropolitan status | ||
| Metropolitan area | 30% | 22% |
| Not in metropolitan area | 45% | 38% |