COMMUNITY BANKS: Number BY STATE AND ASSET SIZE

(Data updated quarterly as Call Reports are filed; Click on any image to enlarge.)

The tables and charts that follow are segmented by bank total assets size in order to present trends across all segments of Community Banks (banks and thrifts with under $10 billion in total assets). This view provides a better perspective on activity and changes among the large population of community banks and thrifts that serve local communities across the U.S. and where these community banks and thrifts are chartered and located.

Data is as of Q3 2024 from FDIC Call Reports. Listing of all banks for current quarter (Excel file): Bank Listing.


STATE OF COMMUNITY BANKING
 
 

Community Banks:

  • 4,359 Community Bank charters active across all 50 states.
 

Community Bank Consolidation Rate:

  • 2.2% L4Q 2024 Q3.
  • Net reduction of 99 community bank charters.
 

Community Bank Statistics:

  • Community Banks represent ~97% of all banks.
  • 2,159 Community Banks headquartered in smaller, rural counties with populations < 50,000.

THE OTHER "DUAL BANKING" SYSTEM: "COMMUNITY BANKS" AND "LARGE BANKS"?

Banking Industry Segmentation by Total Assets. By industry total assets, Community Banks are erroneously underestimated for their importance. Banks with total assets greater than $10 billion hold 85 percent of banking industry assets - with the top four banks holding fifty percent of those large bank assets. However, Community Banks hold $3.5 trillion in total assets which are very important to the markets that they serve.

Banking Industry Segmentation by Bank Size. But Community Banks dominate the numbers. Community Banks represent nearly 97 percent of banks operating in the U.S.

The U.S. is characterized by a “dual banking” system: national and state banking charters. Is the more important definition of the “dual banking system”: Community Banks and Large Banks? Would this perspective better drive regulation and other policy and practices?

COMMUNITY BANKS ARE LOCAL BANKS.

Community Banks are Local Banks. Community Banks are chartered across all states and in markets of varying populations.

Community Banks are located within all 50 states. The central section of the U.S. - from Texas to Minnesota and Nebraska to Illinois - holds a higher concentration of community banks.

And with banking industry consolidation continuing, there has been a reduction in the number of community banks across most states.

COMMUNITY BANKS DOMINATE SMALLER AND RURAL MARKETS ACROSS U.S.

Community Banks are the banks that serve the smaller and rural markets across the U.S. Where Community Banks are critical will be found in the smaller county markets across the country. These graphics show where banks are chartered, including segmentation by the population of each county. Community bankers are primarily headquartered in counties under 50,000 population, where they play critical role in providing credit, liquidity and investments to these communities.

While banks of all sizes show up as headquartered across counties of all sizes, Community Banks remain the dominant financial institution located in communities with smaller populations.

And reflective of the population size of these smaller markets, it is the smaller Community Banks that serve these markets.

CONSOLIDATION OF COMMUNITY BANKS CONTINUES.

The consolidation of the banking industry continues at a steady pace.

For the latest 12 months, the Community Bank Consolidation Rate = 2.2%.

And there was significant variation across states.

Three (3) states - California, Pennsylvania, and Iowa had rates at or above 4%. The U.S. Community Bank average was 2.2%.

SMALL AND RURAL MARKETS IMPACTED MOST.

And as the banking industry consolidation continues, the number of Community Banks continues to decrease. And this decrease occurs across markets of all sizes but with larger decreases in the smaller and the larger markets.

The industry consolidation continues to show its impact on the smaller asset segments.

Note that the larger asset segments showed year-over-year increase.

COMMUNITY BANKS AND IMPACT ON THEIR MARKETS.

Community Banks are located in markets of all population sizes. They contributed importantly to smaller, more rural markets.

For example:

  • 2,159 Community Banks are headquartered in counties with populations less than 50,000.

  • Serve ~1,400 counties across the U.S. with populations of less than 50,000.

  • Serve a population of +28 million people

  • Employ 135 thousand staff in their communities; and

  • Have total assets of $901 billion.

 

COMMUNITY BANKS BY STATE AND ASSET SIZE.

Total Number of Community Banks in U.S.

 

Total Number of Community Banks with Total Assets < $100 Million

 
 

Total Number of Community Banks with Total Assets Between $100 - $250 Million

 
 

Total Number of Community Banks with Total Assets Between $250 - $500 Million

 
 

Total Number of Community Banks with Total Assets Between $500 Million - $1 Billion

 
 

Total Number of Community Banks with Total Assets Between $1 - $10 Billion