JERSEY CITY, N.J.–Forbes has released its list of Best In-State Banks and Credit Unions, with the publication reporting that just 3.4% of credit unions across the country made the cut for its best-in-state rankings.
It should be noted that many credit unions are excluded due to their smaller membership numbers, meaning they are less likely to be contacted as part of the research for the rankings.
The rankings exclude most of the big money center banks, along with Navy FCU, due to its “disproportionate” size ($160.4 billion), according to Forbes.
Between one and five banks and credit unions in each state were awarded the Best-In-State designation, based on the number of consumer responses to a Forbes survey in each state. According to Forbes, each bank and credit union on average received completed survey responses from 50 surveys/interviews, which queried consumers on topics ranging from mobile banking ease-of-use to transparency of fees and interest rates, plus the hours and accessibility of bank branches.
The Top Scores Nationally
Credit unions earning the top-five highest scores nationwide in 2022 in the Forbes rankings are Oklahoma City-based WEOKIE Federal Credit Union (93.64), Eugene, Ore.-based Northwest Community Credit Union (92.96), Laramie, Wyo.-based UniWyo Credit Union (92.53), Antigo, Wis.-based CoVantage Credit Union (92.32), and STCU (92.07) from Liberty Lake, Wash.
The survey was conducted in conjunction with market research firm Statista to conduct in-depth interviews of more than 26,000 U.S. citizens from all 50 states about the financial institutions where they maintain accounts.
‘Battery of Questions’
Consumers were provided an overall satisfaction score and answered whether they would recommend an institution to friends and family. They also responded to a detailed battery of questions about satisfaction in six key areas: trust, terms & conditions (including reasonable and transparent fees), branch services, digital services, customer service, and financial advice, according to Forbes.
Overall scores ranged from 74.2 to 93.6, and 133 unique banks and 171 unique credit unions qualified to earn best-in-state accolades, representing just 2.7% of all U.S. banks, and 3.4% of all credit unions, Forbes reported.
Based on a 1-100 scale, scores ranged from 74.2 to 93.6, and just 3.4% of credit unions across the country made the cut for the best-in-state rankings, Forbes said.
Growth Not Hurting
While many credit unions have grown and have even been acquiring banks, Forbes states the “data suggest that expansion has not come at a cost to customer satisfaction for the 543 employees at Tampa-based Grow Financial (91.06), which earned the highest overall score in the Sunshine State.”
Other Florida credit unions earning Best-In-State honors include Pensacola’s Pen Air Federal (89.71), Jacksonville’s Community First (88.07) and VyStar (87.30), and Tampa-based Suncoast Credit Union (86.75), Forbes stated in its overview.
Click here to see full coverage of America’s Best Credit Unions In Each State.
Bank Rankings
On the bank side, excluded from the rankings were institutions that have branches in more than 14 states, which bars from consideration big national banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
A trio of larger regional banks—Fifth Third Bank, Huntington and Synovus Bank—received Best-In-State awards in four different states, while Citizens Bank and M&T Bank earned honors in three, Forbes said.
“A handful of elite banks from five different states earned the highest scores from their customers: Rhode Island’s BankRI (91.41), D.L. Evans Bank (90.86) in Idaho, Wisconsin’s Tri City National Bank (90.37), Vermont’s Community National Bank (90.14) based in Derby, and New Peoples Bank (90.01) in Honaker, Va, Forbes said.
Click here to see full coverage of America’s Best Banks In Each State.