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Usury Laws by State 2024
Usury laws, designed to regulate the maximum interest rates that lenders can charge borrowers, play a crucial role in maintaining fair and ethical lending practices across states. These laws aim to protect consumers from predatory lending practices, ensuring that individuals and businesses are not subjected to excessively high interest rates that can lead to financial exploitation and hardship. By establishing legal limits on interest rates, usury laws help promote financial stability and prevent borrowers from falling into cycles of debt.
Usury laws are regulated by state legislatures and regulatory agencies, which establish and enforce limits on interest rates, monitor lender compliance, and address consumer complaints. These laws are influenced by economic conditions, interest rate trends, and consumer protection priorities within each state, with federal laws like the Truth in Lending Act also impacting regulations to ensure borrower protection and maintain lending integrity.
The regulations governing usury rates vary significantly from state to state, with each state setting its own maximum allowable interest rates for different types of loans and financial transactions. For example, states like California and Florida have set the general usury limit at 10% and 12%, respectively, while others, like Arkansas and Colorado, allow for higher rates under certain circumstances. Additionally, some states impose variable interest rates based on factors such as the Federal Reserve's interest rate or the type of loan being issued.
Many rates are ranges or variable values. Details of these variable rates are listed in the Additional Notes column.
State | Legal Interest Rate (%) | General Usury Limit | Judgment Rate | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6% | 8.0% | 12% | |
| Alaska | 10.5% | 5% (see notes) | Alaska's general usury limit is more than 5% above the Federal Reserve
interest rate on the day the... | |
| Arizona | 10% | |||
| Arkansas | 6% | variable (see notes) | variable (see notes) | The usury limit for non-consumers is 5% above the Federal Reserve's interest rate.
The usury limit ... |
| California | 10% | 5% (see notes) | California's general usury limit for non-consumers is more than 5% greater
than the Federal Reserve... | |
| Colorado | 8% | 45.0% | Maximum Rate to Consumers: 12% per annum. | |
| Connecticut | 8% | 12.0% | In civil suits where interest is allowed, it is allowed at 10%. | |
| Delaware | 5% | |||
| District of Columbia | 6% | 24.01% (anything > 24%) | The general usury limit in the District of Columbia is anything greater than 24%. | |
| Florida | 12% | 18.0% | On loans above $500,000, the maximum rate is 25%. | |
| Georgia | 7% | On loans below $ 3,000, the usury limit is 16%.
On loans above $ 3,000, the limit appears to be 5% ... | ||
| Hawaii | 10% | The usury limit for consumer transactions is 12%. | ||
| Idaho | 12% | Judgments bear interest at the rate of 5% above the U.S. Treasury
securities rate. | ||
| Illinois | 5% | 9.0% | 9% | |
| Indiana | 10% | 10% | ||
| Iowa | 10% | Consumer transactions are governed at a maximum rate of 12%. | ||
| Kansas | 10% | 15.0% | Judgments bear interest at 4% above the federal discount rate.
On consumer transactions, the maximu... | |
| Kentucky | 8% | variable (see notes) | Kentucky's general usury limit is either more than 4% greater than the
Federal Reserve rate or 19%,... | |
| Louisiana | 7% | 12.0% | Louisiana's rate of interest is actually a sliding scale. The rate at any
given time is one point h... | |
| Maine | 6% | Judgments below $30,000 bear 15%; otherwise, they bear interest
at the 52-week average discount rat... | ||
| Maryland | 6% | 24.0% | 10% | |
| Massachusetts | 6% | 20.0% | variable (see notes) | The interest rate for usury judgements in Massachusetts can be either
12% or 18%, depending upon we... |
| Michigan | 5% | 7.0% | variable (see notes) | Michigan's usury judgements interest rate is variable, and set 1%
above the five-year T-note rate. |
| Minnesota | 6% | 8.0% | The judgment rate is the "secondary market yield" for one-year T-Bills. | |
| Mississippi | - | variable (see notes) | 9% | Commercial loans above $5,000 have no usury limit.
Mississippi's general usury limit is more than 1... |
| Missouri | 9% | 9% | Corporations do not have a usury defense. | |
| Montana | 10% | variable (see notes) | 10% | Montana's general usury limit is above 6% greater than prime rate of
New York City banks. |
| Nebraska | 6% | 16.0% | 1% | Accounts bear interest at the rate of 12%. |
| Nevada | 12% | No usury limit. | ||
| New Hampshire | 10% | |||
| New Jersey | 6% | variable (see notes) | New Jersey's general usury limit is 30% for individuals and 50% for corporations | |
| New Mexico | 15% | Judgment rate is fixed by the court. | ||
| New York | 9% | 16.0% | ||
| North Carolina | 8% | 8.0% | There is a provision for a variable rate, which is 16% or the T-Bill rate
for non-competitive T-Bil... | |
| North Dakota | 6% | 5.5% | 12% | A late payment charge of 1.75% per month may be charged to
commercial accounts that are overdue, pr... |
| Ohio | - | 8.0% | ||
| Oklahoma | 6% | Consumer loans may not exceed 10% unless the person is licensed to
make consumer loans.
Maximum ra... | ||
| Oregon | 9% | variable (see notes) | Oregon's general usury limit for loans below $50,000 is either 12% or 5%
over the discount rate for... | |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | 6.0% | It is criminal usury to charge more than 25%. | |
| Rhode Island | 12% | variable (see notes) | 12% | Rhode Island's general usury limit may be either 21% or the interest rate
charged for T-Bills plus ... |
| South Carolina | 8.8% | 14% | Subject to federal criminal laws against loan sharking, there is no general
usury limit for non-con... | |
| South Dakota | 15% | 12% | ||
| Tennessee | 10% | variable (see notes) | 10% | Tennessee's general usury limit is the lesser of 24% or four points above
the average prime loan ra... |
| Texas | 6% | 18% | Interest does not begin until 30 days after an account was due. | |
| Utah | 10% | 12% | ||
| Vermont | 12% | 12.0% | 12% | On retail installment contracts, the maximum rate is 18% on the first $500
and 15% for the portion ... |
| Virginia | 8% | 8% | Corporations and business loans do not have a usury limit, and loans
over $5,000 for "business" or ... | |
| Washington | 12% | variable (see notes) | variable (see notes) | Washington's general usury limit is either 12% or four points
above the average T-Bill rate for the... |
| West Virginia | 6% | The maximum "contractual" rate is 8%.
Commissioner of Banking issues rates for real estate loans an... | ||
| Wisconsin | 5% | variable (see notes) | Wisconsin applies a myriad of rates for different types of loans.
There is no general usury limit f... | |
| Wyoming | 10% | 10% | If a contract provides for a lesser rate, the judgment rate is the lesser of
10% and the contract r... |