Forbes 2024 America's Best Banks In Each State List

With more than 4,000 banks and nearly 70,000 branches across the country, choosing a financial institution can feel overwhelming.

Bill Handel, general manager and chief economist at research firm Raddon, a Fiserv company, says customers typically focus on three factors when seeking out a bank: convenience, pricing and the quality of customer service. And it’s within that third factor that smaller, regional banks often shine.

Still, sussing out which banks truly prioritize their customers can be tricky. So to help consumers identify top-tier banks—and to give financial institutions a sense of how they compare to their peers—Forbes has ranked the Best Banks In Each State 2024.

For this seventh annual ranking, Forbes partnered once again with market research firm Statista to survey approximately 26,000 U.S. residents. Participants were asked to name all the banks and credit unions where they currently have—and previously had—a checking or savings account, and to identify financial institutions they know through the experiences of friends and family. Respondents were asked to share their level of satisfaction with the bank or credit union, and their willingness to recommend it to others, and to rate the organization on such criteria as: customer service, the quality of financial advice offered by representatives, fee structures, ease of navigating digital services and accessing help at branch locations, and the degree of trust the financial institutions inspired. Survey responses from the last three years were taken into consideration, with recent data and responses from current customers weighted more heavily than the older data and responses from former customers and friends and family.

Lastly, for each bank and credit union, Statista collected online text reviews and ratings written between February 2021 and March 2024. This research accounted for 20% of the scoring while the surveys accounted for 80%. The financial institutions with the highest scores landed on our lists. Large nationwide banks and credit unions with branches in more than 15 U.S. states were excluded.

All told, 185 banks and 207 credit unions were ranked in one or more states. The rankings for the top banks are directly below.

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As with all Forbes lists, companies pay no fee to participate or be selected. For questions about this list, please email listdesk [at] forbes.com.