on Dec 09, 2025

HR&A Launches Unbanked America: A New Platform to Understand Financial Inclusion in the U.S.

Financial inclusion—access to high-quality, low-cost, user-friendly financial services—is a fundamental building block of economic stability. Yet today, 62 million Americans are unbanked or underbanked, a figure equivalent to twice the population of Texas. The consequences are significant: lack of access to traditional banking often forces households to rely on expensive or predatory financial services, costing American families an estimated $22 billion each year and limiting their ability to build savings, manage emergencies, and plan for the future.

 

After more than a decade of conducting banking access studies in cities and states across the country, HR&A is proud to launch Unbanked America, a first-of-its-kind, publicly accessible digital platform that brings together national, state, and demographic data on financial inclusion. This new resource makes it possible for policymakers, practitioners, community leaders, and residents to explore banking access with clarity and precision—no specialized tools or expertise required.

 

 

Unbanked America allows users to examine how every state compares on unbanked and underbanked rates, track trends over time, and understand how financial exclusion relates to household status, race, ethnicity, and citizenship. Through an interactive map, longitudinal data, and accessible storytelling, the platform highlights both persistent inequities and areas of progress. For example, states like Mississippi continue to be hotspots for financial exclusion, while others have seen meaningful improvements over the last decade.

 

Built on data from reliable national sources, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Unbanked America simplifies complex datasets into a unified, easy-to-use interface. For the first time, information that was previously scattered across multiple sources is available in a single place—free and open to the public.

 

The stakes could not be higher. At a moment of growing economic uncertainty, helping Americans make the most of their money is both urgent and essential. Unbanked America equips communities with the insight needed to identify barriers, shape solutions, and advance policies that strengthen financial resilience.

 

Explore the platform and learn what the data reveals about your community.