What a $500 Payday Loan Costs in Every State (2026)
The same $500, two-week payday loan can cost more than $100 in one state and be unavailable in the next. Here is the legal maximum cost and APR in all 50 states and DC, computed from each state's own statute, with every source linked.
Key findings
- 13 states set a fee cap you can price. On $500 for 14 days the legal maximum runs from $25 in Maine (130% APR) to $100.60 in Louisiana (525% APR).
- 21 jurisdictions cap the annual rate or don't allow payday loans. 16 cap the rate, at 36% a year or less in most, which limits the same loan to about $7 in interest (Minnesota's 50% allows $9.59, and Massachusetts adds a $20 fee for $24.41); 4 have no law authorizing payday loans, and Hawaii repealed its law in 2022.
- 7 states set no fee cap, so the lender's disclosure is the only price limit.
- 5 states cap the loan below $500 in cash, and 5 require a longer minimum term, so a $500, 14-day loan isn't available there at any price.
The map
Fee-cap states show the APR of their legal maximum; rate-cap states show the annual cap. Tap a state for its full rules.
- Fee cap, 450% APR or more
- Fee cap, 300–449% APR
- Fee cap, under 300% APR
- No fee cap
- Loan under $500 or longer minimum term
- Rate cap (annual)
- Not permitted or repealed
Most to least expensive fee caps
- Louisiana: $100.60 (525% APR)
- North Dakota: $100 (521% APR)
- Wyoming: $100 (521% APR)
- Kentucky: $88.24 (460% APR)
- Alabama: $87.50 (456% APR)
- Alaska: $80 (417% APR)
- Kansas: $75 (391% APR)
- South Carolina: $75 (391% APR)
- Washington: $75 (391% APR)
- Indiana: $67 (349% APR)
- Michigan: $65 (339% APR)
- Florida: $55 (287% APR)
- Maine: $25 (130% APR)
All 50 states and DC
| State | Status | Max cost, $500 for 14 days | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Fee cap | $87.50 (456% APR) | Ala. Code §5-18A-12(a) |
| Alaska | Fee cap | $80 (417% APR) | AS 06.50.460 |
| Arizona | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | A.R.S. §6-632 |
| Arkansas | Not permitted | No payday loan | No authorizing statute (Attorney General) |
| California | Max $255 cash | No $500 loan; at most $255 | Cal. Fin. Code §§23035, 23036 |
| Colorado | 6-month minimum term | No 14-day loan | C.R.S. §5-3.1-103, §5-3.1-105 |
| Connecticut | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | Conn. Gen. Stat. §36a-555 et seq. |
| Delaware | No fee cap | No legal maximum | 5 Del. C. §2229, §2235A |
| District of Columbia | Rate cap 24% | $4.60 (24% APR) | D.C. Code §28-3301 |
| Florida | Fee cap | $55 (287% APR) | Fla. Stat. §560.404, §560.309(8) |
| Georgia | Not permitted | No payday loan | O.C.G.A. §16-17-2 |
| Hawaii | Repealed 2022 | No payday loan | Act 56, SLH 2021 (repealed HRS §480F-4) |
| Idaho | No fee cap | No legal maximum | Idaho Code §28-46-412 |
| Illinois | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | 815 ILCS 123/15-5-5 |
| Indiana | Fee cap | $67 (349% APR) | Ind. Code §37-3-3-2 |
| Iowa | Max $445 cash | No $500 loan; at most $445 | Iowa Code §533D.9, §533D.10 |
| Kansas | Fee cap | $75 (391% APR) | K.S.A. 16a-2-404 |
| Kentucky | Fee cap | $88.24 (460% APR) | KRS 286.9-100 |
| Louisiana | Fee cap | $100.60 (525% APR) | La. R.S. 9:3578.4 |
| Maine | Fee cap | $25 (130% APR) | 9-A M.R.S. §2-401(7) |
| Maryland | Rate cap 33% | $6.33 (33% APR) | Md. Code, Com. Law §12-306(a)(6) |
| Massachusetts | Rate cap 23% + $20 fee | $24.41 (127% APR) | 209 CMR 26.01 |
| Michigan | Fee cap | $65 (339% APR) | MCL 487.2153 |
| Minnesota | Rate cap 50% | $9.59 (50% APR) | Minn. Stat. §47.601 |
| Mississippi | Max $410 cash | No $500 loan; at most $410 | Miss. Code Ann. §75-67-519 |
| Missouri | No fee cap | No legal maximum | RSMo §408.505 |
| Montana | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | Mont. Code Ann. §31-1-722 |
| Nebraska | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | Neb. Rev. Stat. §45-918 |
| Nevada | No fee cap | No legal maximum | NRS 99.050, NRS 604A.5017 |
| New Hampshire | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | RSA 399-A:17 |
| New Jersey | Rate cap 30% | $5.75 (30% APR) | N.J.S.A. 2C:21-19 |
| New Mexico | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | NMSA §58-15-17 (HB 132, 2022) |
| New York | Rate cap 25% | $4.79 (25% APR) | N.Y. Penal Law §190.40; Gen. Oblig. Law §5-501 |
| North Carolina | Not permitted | No payday loan | N.C.G.S. §53-281 (expired) |
| North Dakota | Fee cap | $100 (521% APR) | N.D.C.C. §13-08-12 |
| Ohio | 91-day minimum term | No 14-day loan | Ohio Rev. Code §1321.39 |
| Oklahoma | 60-day minimum term | No 14-day loan | 59 O.S. §3150.1 |
| Oregon | 31-day minimum term | No 14-day loan | ORS 725A.064 |
| Pennsylvania | Rate cap 6% | $1.15 (6% APR) | 41 P.S. §201 (Loan Interest and Protection Law) |
| Rhode Island | Max $454.55 cash | No $500 loan; at most $454.55 | R.I. Gen. Laws §19-14.4-4 |
| South Carolina | Fee cap | $75 (391% APR) | S.C. Code §34-39-180 |
| South Dakota | Rate cap 36% | $6.90 (36% APR) | SDCL §54-4-44 (Initiated Measure 21, 2016) |
| Tennessee | Max $425 cash | No $500 loan; at most $425 | Tenn. Code §45-17-112 |
| Texas | No fee cap | No legal maximum | Tex. Fin. Code §393.622(c) |
| Utah | No fee cap | No legal maximum | Utah Code §7-23-401 |
| Vermont | Rate cap 18% | $3.45 (18% APR) | 9 V.S.A. §41a |
| Virginia | 4-month minimum term | No 14-day loan | Va. Code §6.2-1816.1 |
| Washington | Fee cap | $75 (391% APR) | RCW 31.45.073 |
| West Virginia | Not permitted | No payday loan | No authorizing statute (W. Va. Code ch. 46A rate caps) |
| Wisconsin | No fee cap | No legal maximum | Wis. Stat. §138.14(10)(a)1. |
| Wyoming | Fee cap | $100 (521% APR) | W.S. 40-14-363 |
Legal maximums as of October 2026, each checked against the linked source on October 19, 2026 and re-checked every week. Rate-cap rows show that cap applied to $500 for 14 days.
How to read this
- Max cost is the most a lender may legally charge on a $500 loan due in 14 days under that state’s law, and the APR annualizes it so every state is compared on the same basis.
- Fee cap states limit the fee itself, so the cost is direct.
- Rate cap X% means the state caps the annual rate instead of the fee; the cost shown is that cap, plus any flat fee, applied to $500 for 14 days.
- No fee cap means the law sets no maximum fee, so the lender’s disclosure is the only price limit.
- Max $X cash means the state caps the loan or the check below $500, so the $500 loan isn’t available at any price.
- Minimum term means the state’s reform replaced the two-week loan with a longer installment loan.
- Not permitted means no state law authorizes payday loans, and Repealed 2022 marks Hawaii, which replaced them with small installment loans.
For each state’s full rules, see our state-by-state payday loan pages and payday loan laws by state.
If you have checked your state’s limits and decided to go ahead, you can start a loan request and see what the lending networks you consent to offer. Compare the fee on the lender’s disclosure with the legal maximum above before you sign.
Methodology
The baseline is $500 in cash received, repaid in 14 days:
Cost = the most the law allows on that loan · APR = (Cost ÷ $500) × (365 ÷ 14) × 100
Cost includes any fixed fee the law adds to the lender’s charge, such as Alaska’s $5 origination fee, Florida’s $5 verification fee, and Massachusetts’s $20 administrative fee. It leaves out small per-transaction database fees that some states let lenders pass through, such as Kentucky’s $3.
Most states cap the fee as a share of the amount advanced, so the math is direct. Kentucky and Louisiana cap the fee as a share of the face amount of your check, and the fee comes out of that check, so we solved for the check that leaves you exactly $500 in cash (about $588 in Kentucky, about $601 in Louisiana). Iowa, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Tennessee cap the check at $500 including the fee, so those rows show the most cash the cap allows.
Two states need a reading of their statute. Maine’s 30% annual cap would allow only $5.75, but its law lets a licensed lender take a $25 minimum charge on any loan of $250 or more, so $25 is the legal maximum. Wyoming caps the charge at 20% a month, and the statute lets it be taken in full on any term, so we show $100; its Legislative Service Office has read it as prorated for shorter terms, which would mean about $45.
Each row links the state statute or regulator page it comes from. A script re-checks every one of those sources each week and flags any that change.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change; confirm the current limit with your state’s banking or financial regulator, or with the lender’s required disclosure, before relying on any figure on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much would a $500 payday loan cost?
At the CFPB's example fee of $15 per $100, a $500 loan due in 14 days costs $75, about 391% APR. Under each state's own cap the legal maximum runs from $25 in Maine (130% APR) to $100.60 in Louisiana (525% APR); North Dakota and Wyoming allow $100 (521%). Seven states set no fee cap, and 21 jurisdictions cap the annual rate or don't allow payday loans at all. Every state's figure, with the law it comes from, is in the table above.
Why does the same $500 loan cost so differently from state to state?
There is no federal price cap on a payday loan, so each state sets its own limit. Thirteen states cap the fee directly. Sixteen jurisdictions cap the interest rate instead, at 36% a year or less in most, which limits a $500, two-week loan to about $7 in interest, too little for payday lenders to operate. Minnesota allows 50% a year ($9.59 on the same loan), and Massachusetts adds a $20 fee to its 23% cap ($24.41). Seven states set no fee cap at all.
What does 'No fee cap' mean in the table?
The state's law sets no maximum fee on the loan, so the lender sets the price and must disclose it. Delaware, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin are in this group. Some limit other things instead: Missouri caps total charges across a loan and its renewals at 75% of the amount borrowed, Nevada caps the term at 35 days, and Texas caps the lender's interest but not the credit access business's fee. We don't estimate a dollar figure for these states because the law gives no number to compute.
Why do some states show no 14-day loan even though small loans are legal there?
Five states replaced the two-week, single-payment payday loan with a longer installment loan by setting a minimum term: six months in Colorado, 91 days in Ohio, 60 days in Oklahoma, 31 days in Oregon, and four months in Virginia. Small loans are still legal there, but a $500 loan due in 14 days is not. Five more states (California, Iowa, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Tennessee) cap the loan or the check below $500 in cash.
How was the APR in this table calculated?
We took the most a lender could legally charge for putting $500 in your hands for 14 days, then annualized it: APR = (cost ÷ $500) × (365 ÷ 14) × 100. In rate-cap states, the cost is that annual rate applied to $500 for 14 days, plus any flat fee the law allows. The methodology section below covers states that charge the fee on the face amount of your check.
Is a real payday loan actually due in exactly 14 days?
Not always. State law typically allows a range, commonly 7 to 31 days, and $500 is the maximum loan in some states but not others. We used $500 and 14 days as one baseline every state can be compared on. Your actual fee depends on the amount you borrow and the term your lender offers within your state's limits.
Ready to Find the Right Loan?
Compare top-rated products and connect with lenders.
Notes by state
- Alaska: $75 fee plus a $5 origination fee.
- Arizona: Arizona's payday-loan law expired in 2010; consumer loans of $3,000 or less are capped at 36% a year.
- Arkansas: The Attorney General reports that every storefront payday lender in the state has been shut down.
- California: The check is capped at $300 and the fee at 15% of it, so the most cash is $255.
- Colorado: When a loan is made, the finance charge is capped at 36% APR.
- Connecticut: Loans over 12% a year are void unless the lender is licensed; licensed small lenders are capped at 36% APR.
- Delaware: No fee cap; at most five short-term loans in 12 months and four rollovers.
- Florida: A 10% fee plus a verification fee of up to $5.
- Hawaii: Replaced by small installment loans: 36% interest plus a monthly fee, with a two-month minimum term on $500 or less.
- Idaho: No fee cap; the loan itself is capped at $1,000.
- Illinois: The 36% APR counts nearly all fees, and a loan above it is void (815 ILCS 123/15-5-10).
- Indiana: Tiered: 15% of the first $250, 13% of the next $150, 10% of the rest.
- Iowa: The check is capped at $500 including the fee.
- Kentucky: $15 per $100 of the check's face, so a $588.24 check leaves $500 in cash. A $3 database fee is excluded.
- Louisiana: 16.75% of the check's face, so a $600.60 check leaves $500 in cash.
- Maine: The 30% annual cap would allow only $5.75, but a $25 minimum charge is allowed on loans of $250 or more.
- Maryland: 2.75% a month on the first $1,000 of a loan of $2,000 or less.
- Massachusetts: On a two-week loan the $20 administrative fee is most of the cost.
- Michigan: Tiered from 15% of the first $100 down to 11% of the fifth, plus the database verification fee the law allows; $73.03 if the tiers apply to the check's face instead.
- Minnesota: Short-term loans of $1,300 or less are capped at 50% APR.
- Mississippi: The check is capped at $500 including the $21.95-per-$100 fee.
- Missouri: No per-loan fee cap; total interest and fees over the loan and its renewals are capped at 75% of the amount borrowed.
- Nevada: No fee cap; the term is capped at 35 days and the loan at 25% of expected gross monthly income.
- New Jersey: The usury ceiling for individual borrowers.
- New Mexico: Small loans also need a term of at least 120 days.
- New York: The state regulator says payday lending is illegal in New York under its usury laws.
- Ohio: Shorter terms are allowed only when each payment is a small share of income.
- Oklahoma: No new deferred deposit loans since August 1, 2020; small loans replaced them.
- Pennsylvania: The general usury ceiling; licensed consumer discount companies may charge more, though far below payday-loan pricing.
- Rhode Island: The check is capped at $500 including the fee. The law authorizing these loans is repealed effective January 1, 2027.
- Tennessee: The check is capped at $500 including the 15% fee.
- Texas: The lender's interest is capped, but the credit access business's broker fee is not.
- Virginia: Shorter terms are allowed only when each payment is a small share of income.
- Wisconsin: No cap on interest before the maturity date.
- Wyoming: The statute lets the full 20%-a-month charge be taken on any term. The Legislative Service Office has read it as prorated for terms under a month, which would limit this loan to about $45 (about 235% APR).
Use this data: download it as CSV or JSON, and please link to this page when you cite it.