Forbes’ List of Best Banks in Each State in America 2024

Choosing the Best Bank in Your State in 2024

With a staggering number of over 4,000 banks and nearly 70,000 branches all over the country, selecting the right financial institution can seem like a daunting task.

The Importance of Customer Service in Banking

Bill Handel, the respected general manager and chief economist at Raddon, a Fiserv company, points out that customers generally prioritize three key factors when selecting a bank: accessibility, pricing, and most importantly, customer service quality. It’s in this last factor that smaller, regional banks often outshine their counterparts.

Forbes’ Best Banks Ranking 2024

Recognizing the challenge that consumers face in identifying top-tier banks, Forbes has stepped in to help. They have released their comprehensive ranking of the Best Banks In Each State 2024, providing consumers with valuable insights and offering financial institutions a benchmark to measure themselves against.

Methodology of Ranking the Best Banks

For the seventh year running, Forbes teamed up with leading market research firm Statista to carry out an extensive survey of 26,000 U.S. residents. The research asked participants to list all the banks and credit unions they have had accounts with, and rate them based on various factors such as customer service quality, financial advice quality, fee structures, and ease of accessing digital services. The survey also factored in respondents’ levels of trust in these financial institutions and their willingness to recommend them.

The Role of Customer Reviews

As part of the ranking process, Statista also collected online text reviews and ratings for each bank and credit union from February 2021 to March 2024. These reviews accounted for 20% of the overall score, while the surveys contributed the remaining 80%. As a result, the highest-scoring financial institutions made it to Forbes’ coveted lists.

Exclusions and Considerations

Notably, large nationwide banks and credit unions with branches in more than 15 U.S. states were excluded from the ranking. In the end, a total of 185 banks and 207 credit unions made it to the rankings in one or more states.

Remember, companies don’t pay to be involved or selected for Forbes’ lists. If you have any queries about this list, get in touch with Forbes at listdesk [at] forbes.com.