Who Knows About the Cheaper Option — and Who Does Not
Awareness of low-cost alternatives tracks income almost perfectly. The people who need them most know least.
- 5 — income bands compared
- 54.0 — lowest-income band did not know about credit-union loans, %
- 28.0 — highest-income band, same question, %
- 23.0 — lowest-income band had used a cheaper option, %
The numbers
Household income bands, averaged across states with at least 20 respondents.
| Household income | Respondents | Credit-union loan (PAL), % | Extended payment plan, % | Earned-wage access, % | Used an alternative before, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <25k | 3368 | 54.0 | 46.8 | 41.4 | 23.0 |
| 25-49k | 4391 | 56.5 | 49.6 | 43.9 | 25.3 |
| 50-74k | 2372 | 48.4 | 43.1 | 38.6 | 21.2 |
| 75-99k | 1169 | 25.4 | 23.2 | 20.3 | 12.0 |
| 100k+ | 747 | 28.0 | 23.8 | 20.8 | 13.3 |
How we counted
- Income is self-reported annual household income.
- The question asked what borrowers wish they had known before taking the loan.
Data updated 2026-07-31. Full dataset: data.csv.
Use this research
Free to cite, quote and chart — with attribution. Journalists and researchers are welcome to reuse the table and the dataset.
Citation: Paykedge, “Who Knows About the Cheaper Option — and Who Does Not”, 2026. Available at https://paykedge.com/research/alternatives-by-income/