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Community banks and credit unions under $10 billion in assets operate 45,434 offices across the 50 states and D.C. The counties around those offices are 20.1% age 65 and older, against 18.9% for the country as a whole.
The densest older footprints are in Maine (24.9%), Vermont (24.6%), and Delaware and New Hampshire (both 23.9%). Hawaii and Montana follow at 22.9%.
The largest absolute numbers sit elsewhere. We estimate that California credit unions serve about 1.8 million members 65 and older, followed by Texas (1.3 million) and Florida (1.3 million). Across all states the estimate is about 20 million, out of 105 million members.
The lightest older footprints are in Utah (13.4%), District of Columbia (13.6%) and Texas (16.7%). Even there, older customers are a large group in absolute terms.
This report measures where older residents live near community institutions. It does not measure fraud losses, and it says nothing about any one institution.
Two federal findings frame how teams think about elder financial exploitation. FinCEN's April 2024 analysis found that about four in five elder exploitation filings involve strangers and about one in five involve someone the victim knows. The CFPB's February 2019 report on suspicious activity reports found that when the older adult knew the suspect, the average loss was about $50,000, compared with about $17,000 when the suspect was a stranger.
Both matter. Strangers account for most filings. Known-person cases are fewer and each one costs more. Staff at a community institution often see both kinds across the same counter.
Office-weighted means each office counts once, using the 65+ share of the county it sits in. U.S. share: 18.9%.
Estimate only. Banks do not publish customer counts, so bank customers are not included.
Ranked by office-weighted share of residents 65 and older. Institutions are counted by headquarters state. Offices are counted where they sit. Older members are an estimate for credit unions only. Rank by older members is in the last column. Full data: state-summary.csv.
| Rank | State | Institutions | Offices | 65+ share, office-weighted | 65+ share, whole state | Est. older CU members | Rank, older members |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine | 69 | 555 | 24.9% | 24.6% | 196,800 | 32 |
| 2 | Vermont | 24 | 187 | 24.6% | 24.1% | 105,200 | 42 |
| 3 | Delaware | 19 | 103 | 23.9% | 22.8% | 57,800 | 49 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 28 | 332 | 23.9% | 23.0% | 190,700 | 34 |
| 5 | Hawaii | 48 | 244 | 22.9% | 22.6% | 201,100 | 30 |
| 5 | Montana | 73 | 370 | 22.9% | 22.2% | 106,300 | 40 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 113 | 384 | 22.8% | 22.5% | 89,500 | 45 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 354 | 1,733 | 22.4% | 21.4% | 970,800 | 6 |
| 9 | Florida | 168 | 1,368 | 22.2% | 22.8% | 1,250,700 | 3 |
| 9 | Oregon | 58 | 478 | 22.2% | 21.0% | 541,400 | 12 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 18 | 169 | 22.0% | 20.9% | 108,400 | 39 |
| 12 | Michigan | 230 | 1,638 | 21.9% | 20.5% | 1,106,400 | 5 |
| 13 | New Mexico | 65 | 355 | 21.6% | 21.1% | 249,100 | 26 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 243 | 1,723 | 21.6% | 20.8% | 787,200 | 7 |
| 15 | Iowa | 286 | 1,398 | 21.5% | 20.1% | 246,600 | 27 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 85 | 691 | 21.4% | 21.1% | 346,600 | 22 |
| 16 | Wyoming | 40 | 172 | 21.4% | 20.7% | 60,800 | 48 |
| 18 | Arizona | 43 | 345 | 21.0% | 20.6% | 460,500 | 15 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 295 | 1,384 | 21.0% | 19.1% | 395,900 | 20 |
| 20 | North Dakota | 85 | 443 | 20.9% | 17.9% | 43,300 | 51 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 184 | 884 | 20.9% | 18.3% | 98,800 | 44 |
| 20 | New York | 350 | 1,734 | 20.9% | 19.3% | 1,147,000 | 4 |
| 23 | Kansas | 238 | 1,186 | 20.7% | 18.9% | 177,300 | 36 |
| 24 | Connecticut | 87 | 500 | 20.6% | 20.4% | 200,800 | 30 |
| 24 | Ohio | 328 | 1,531 | 20.6% | 20.2% | 644,600 | 8 |
| 24 | South Dakota | 84 | 437 | 20.6% | 19.4% | 66,200 | 46 |
| 27 | Illinois | 485 | 2,401 | 20.5% | 18.7% | 580,000 | 10 |
| 28 | Missouri | 260 | 1,442 | 20.4% | 19.6% | 302,200 | 24 |
| 29 | Massachusetts | 195 | 1,010 | 20.3% | 19.9% | 444,300 | 16 |
| 30 | Maryland | 86 | 517 | 20.0% | 18.4% | 360,700 | 21 |
| 31 | Alabama | 178 | 1,151 | 19.9% | 19.4% | 462,700 | 14 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 118 | 916 | 19.9% | 19.0% | 102,700 | 43 |
| 31 | Virginia | 137 | 1,002 | 19.9% | 18.4% | 552,500 | 11 |
| 34 | Washington | 97 | 756 | 19.7% | 18.3% | 624,800 | 9 |
| 35 | Mississippi | 105 | 640 | 19.6% | 19.3% | 130,900 | 38 |
| 36 | Tennessee | 229 | 1,441 | 19.5% | 18.6% | 441,700 | 17 |
| 37 | Kentucky | 165 | 996 | 19.3% | 18.8% | 222,600 | 29 |
| 38 | Idaho | 34 | 261 | 19.2% | 18.7% | 146,300 | 37 |
| 38 | Louisiana | 231 | 1,151 | 19.2% | 18.8% | 277,300 | 25 |
| 40 | Colorado | 120 | 663 | 19.1% | 17.1% | 342,300 | 23 |
| 41 | Indiana | 197 | 1,270 | 19.0% | 18.4% | 493,800 | 13 |
| 42 | North Carolina | 84 | 604 | 18.9% | 18.9% | 415,400 | 19 |
| 43 | New Jersey | 166 | 699 | 18.8% | 18.5% | 196,000 | 33 |
| 44 | Nevada | 21 | 120 | 18.7% | 18.3% | 105,500 | 40 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 211 | 952 | 18.4% | 18.0% | 240,300 | 28 |
| 46 | Georgia | 188 | 1,020 | 18.1% | 16.7% | 442,200 | 17 |
| 47 | California | 312 | 1,844 | 17.8% | 17.5% | 1,793,700 | 1 |
| 48 | Alaska | 12 | 136 | 17.1% | 15.8% | 46,300 | 50 |
| 49 | Texas | 688 | 3,566 | 16.7% | 14.9% | 1,256,200 | 2 |
| 50 | District of Columbia | 32 | 98 | 13.6% | 13.6% | 63,400 | 47 |
| 51 | Utah | 65 | 434 | 13.4% | 13.0% | 181,900 | 35 |
Ties share a rank. The District of Columbia is shown as a state equivalent. Territories are excluded.
None of this requires new software. Most of it is process.
Look at your own footprint first. Pull the 65+ share for the counties your offices serve and compare it with the state figure above. Branches in older counties may need more training time and a faster escalation path.
Train for both patterns. Strangers show up as urgent wires, gift cards, crypto purchases and sudden changes in routine. Known-person cases show up as a new signer, a power of attorney agent moving money, or a household member who answers for the customer. Tellers see different signs in each.
Ask for a trusted contact. Many customers will name one if asked at account opening or at a routine visit. It gives you someone to call when something looks off.
Write down a hold-and-escalate path. Staff should know who to call, what they can pause, and when to bring in the BSA officer, without waiting for a manager to be found.
Use the FinCEN elder financial exploitation key term in SAR narratives so the filings can be found and counted. Keep a current contact for your county's Adult Protective Services, and for local law enforcement who handle financial crimes.
Review the cases you already have. Count how many involved a known person and how many a stranger, and see whether your own mix looks like the national one.
Adalma, Inc. builds Cernio, a fraud and BSA platform for community banks and credit unions, focused on elder scams and exploitation. Contact: Vivek Raghunathan, Founder & CEO, vivek@adalma.ai.