PROVIDENCE – Nearly 80% of Rhode Island residents still use brick-and-mortar banks, according to a recent report by Upgraded Points LLC.
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The shift to the digital economy and the rise of online banking has caused many banks to close physical branches and ATMs, however there are segments of the population that lack the ability to access online banking reliably and still depend on physical branch locations for their banking needs, especially lower-income households (those with less than $15,000 in annual income), households without a high school degree and older households, according to the “States Where People Still Rely on Brick-And-Mortar Banking Services” report.
To determine the states where people still rely on brick-and-mortar banking services, researchers at Upgraded Points analyzed the latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the National Credit Union Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau and ranked states based on the share of households that use brick-and-mortar banks, including credit unions. Researchers also calculated the share of households that only use brick-and-mortar banks, the share of households with a bank account, and the total population per bank branch.
The report found that 77.9% of households in Rhode Island – the fourth-lowest share of households in the United States – use brick-and-mortar banking services, and 15% rely on them completely. The report also found that 96.5% of households in Rhode Island have a bank account and the total population per bank branch in the state is 3,955.
That compares with nationwide statistics of 81.7% of households that use brick-and-mortar banks, 9.9% of households that only use brick-and-mortar banks, 95.5% of households with a bank account, and a total population per bank branch of 3,541.
Vermont had the highest share of households that use brick-and-mortar banks in New England with 82.3%, ranking No. 19 in the U.S., followed closely by Maine at No. 21 with 82.1%, Massachusetts at No. 24 with 81.7%, Connecticut at No. 33 with 81%, New Hampshire at No. 46 with 78% and Rhode Island at No. 47 with 77.9%.
The report found that 11.4% of households in Massachusetts only use brick-and-mortar banks, 96.4% of households in the Bay State have a bank account, and the total population per bank branch in the state is 3,727.
Oregon had the highest share of households that use brick-and-mortar banks in the U.S. with 88%, followed by Utah at No. 2 with 85.3%, Kansas at No. 3 with 85.2%, Iowa at No. 4 with 85.1% and North Dakota at No. 5 with 84.5%. Many of the states with the most households that use brick-and-mortar banks have populations that include large concentrations of people over 65, such as Oregon, or have low rates of computer and internet access, such as North Dakota and Iowa, the report found.
Georgia had the lowest share of households that use brick-and-mortar banks in the U.S. with 76.4%, followed by Alaska at No. 49, also with 76.4%, Louisiana at No. 48 with 76.7%, and Rhode Island and New Hampshire wrapping up the lowest five.
The full report can be viewed here.
(Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the Centreville Bank branch in the photo as the bank’s newest branch. It was constructed in 2020.)
