JERSEY CITY, N.J.–Forbes has released its rankings of best credit unions by state.

The list does not include any national rankings and it comes with a caveat that rules out a lot of credit unions from consideration: it’s based in part on a satisfaction survey, which means CUs with smaller memberships are less likely to be considered.

The rankings also do not include any CU with branches in more than 15 states, admittedly a small number, but it eliminates the largest CU of all, Navy Federal.

In all, Forbes identified 222 CUs as its “Best In State Credit Unions.”

Explaining Credit Unions

After explaining the fundamental differences between credit unions and banks, Forbes quoted Tansley Stearns, CEO of Community Financial Credit Union in Michigan, as saying that at credit unions, “you will typically find that fees are lower and interest rates are better, both on savings and loans, so that structure does lend itself to a stronger financial offering for members.”

In addition, Stearns told Forbes, community ownership of credit unions “puts the members at the center of everything we do. We are not thinking about quarter-to-quarter earnings pressures. We are thinking about our members and what their needs are, and in these unique times, how do we continue to iteratively solve new problems on their behalf?”

About the Rankings

To create this ranking along with the Best-In-State Banks 2025, Forbes said it partnered with market research firm Statista and surveyed approximately 26,000 U.S. residents. Respondents were asked how satisfied they were and how likely they were to recommend the U.S.-based banks and credit unions at which they have a checking or savings account, those at which they had an account within the last three years, and those they knew through friends and family, according to Forbes.

In addition, participants were also asked to rate their financial institutions on factors including trust, customer service, digital tools, the quality of financial advice given and whether fees were transparent and reasonable.

Additional Data Gathered

“Additionally, Statista gathered more than 500,000 publicly available text reviews and ratings about each bank and credit union written between February 2022 and March 2025,” Forbes said. “This research was incorporated into the analysis, accounting for 20% of each financial institution’s score, while the surveys accounted for 80%. Ultimately, the institutions with the highest overall scores made our rankings.”

The rankings can be found here https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-in-state-credit-unions/