Banking Deserts in America

This interactive map visualizes bank closures by state. Several factors seem to be at work in the national decline in bank branch locations since their high-water mark in 2009. The Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 and subsequent Great Recession impacted the availability of services as many major financial institutions closed or underwent consolidation. Additionally, technological innovations continue to change the delivery of banking services, generating an increased number of online transactions. A majority of home mortgages, 53% of first-lien home purchases, were made by nonbank lenders last year. Nonbanks have become specialists in marketing and delivering their services online with applications like Quicken Loan's "Rocket Mortgage." This shift in mortgages reflects a general trend toward operational efficiency with the online delivery of services.