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Banks Have Failed the Most in These Cities & States

Published: 08-14-23 Category: Insight

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The year 2023 marked an infamous milestone for the US banking sector, with 3 banks failing with assets worth approximately $549 billion.

Compare that to the first year of the financial crisis in 2008, and the collapse of 25 banks amounted to $373 billion in assets.

With 22 fewer bank collapses in 2023 so far, this year has managed to rack up around $176 billion more in lost assets than in 2008.

In this exploration, we'll dive into the geography of these failures, highlighting the states and cities that have borne the brunt of this financial storm and working to understand the underlying dynamics that have shaped two decades of banking history.

Number of Closed Banks & Their Assets by Year

Here's the total number of closed banks broken down by year:

Number of Closed Banks By Year 2000-2023

And here's the total number of assets of failed banks broken down by year from 2000 to 2023:

Overall, there have been a total of 566 bank failures across the United States since 2000. We found that 82% of bank failures coincided with years of financial distress in the US economy, including the financial crisis in 2002 and, notably, with the Great Recession of 2008. Throughout the span of the Great Recession, from 2008 to 2012, the US saw a total of 465 bank failures, with a sum of $68.9 billion in assets.

Even in the years following the end of the recession, between 2013 and 2014, there were 42 bank failures across the US connected with $9.18 billion in assets, signaling a shaky economic recovery. In 2002, a lighter recession by comparison, the US still saw 11 bank failures tied to $2.7 billion in assets.

Although the US has only seen 3 bank failures so far this year, the repercussions were particularly damaging: $548.5 billion in assets were tied up with those bank failures, which is the most from any year of bank failures since 2000.

Analyzing US Bank Failure Counts by State

MyEListing looked at FDIC bank failure data to identify the states and cities in the United States that have experienced the most bank failures since 2000. The analysis encompassed a total of 566 bank failures over the past two decades, offering crucial insights into the regions most impacted by these financial crises.

In the landscape of banking crises since 2000, three states stand out with alarming numbers of bank failures, significantly impacting the financial sector and local economies.

Georgia has the highest number of bank failures, with 93 bank failures accounting for 16.43% of the 566 total bank failures since 2000.
Florida comes in second with 76 bank failures, contributing 13.43% of total bank failures since 2000.
Illinois rounds out the top 3 with 69 failures accounting for 12.19% since 2000.

These 3 states alone account for approximately 42.05% of all bank failures in the country.

Here's where, in America, most banks have failed, according to 23 years of data:

Rank	State	Number of Bank Failures	Percentage of Total
1	Georgia	93	16.43%
2	Florida	76	13.43%
3	Illinois	69	12.19%
4	California	43	7.60%
5	Minnesota	23	4.06%
6	Washington	19	3.36%
7	Missouri	16	2.83%
7	Arizona	16	2.83%
9	Michigan	14	2.47%
10	Texas	13	2.30%
11	Nevada	12	2.12%
12	Kansas	11	1.94%
12	Wisconsin	11	1.94%
14	South Carolina	10	1.77%
14	Colorado	10	1.77%
14	Maryland	10	1.77%
14	Pennsylvania	10	1.77%
18	Ohio	9	1.59%
19	Utah	8	1.41%
19	New Jersey	8	1.41%
21	Oklahoma	7	1.24%
21	Alabama	7	1.24%
21	Tennessee	7	1.24%
21	North Carolina	7	1.24%
25	Oregon	6	1.06%
25	New York	6	1.06%
27	Virginia	5	0.88%
28	Nebraska	4	0.71%
28	Arkansas	4	0.71%
28	Louisiana	4	0.71%
31	New Mexico	3	0.53%
31	Kentucky	3	0.53%
31	Indiana	3	0.53%
34	West Virginia	2	0.35%
34	Idaho	2	0.35%
34	Mississippi	2	0.35%
34	Iowa	2	0.35%
34	Connecticut	2	0.35%
39	Wyoming	1	0.18%
40	South Dakota	1	0.18%
40	New Hampshire	1	0.18%
40	Hawaii	1	0.18%
40	Massachusetts	1	0.18%

Several other states have had over 5 bank failures, including Nevada, Kansas, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oregon, and New York. These states' contributions to the total bank failures range from 1.06% to 2.12%.

At the absolute lowest end, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Massachusetts each report only a single bank failure, each contributing a minimal 0.18% to the total bank failures across the United States.

Analyzing US Bank Failure Counts by City

This dataset comprises the total number of bank failures per city. Out of 566 total bank failures, the cities with the highest numbers are:

Chicago, Illinois, with 20;
Atlanta, Georgia, with 10; and
Phoenix, Arizona, with 6.

Here's a table ranking the number of bank failures by each city:

Rank	City	Number of Bank Failures
1	Chicago, IL	20
2	Atlanta, GA	10
3	Phoenix, AZ	6
4	Naples, FL	5
5	Alpharetta, GA	4
5	Bradenton, FL	4
5	Las Vegas, NV	4
5	Los Angeles, CA	4
5	Miami, FL	4
5	Scottsdale, AZ	4
6	Asheville, NC	3
6	Baltimore, MD	3
6	Birmingham, AL	3
6	Henderson, NV	3
6	Milwaukee, WI	3
6	New York, NY	3
6	San Francisco, CA	3
6	Sarasota, FL	3
6	Springfield, IL	3
6	Stockbridge, MA	3
6	Tampa, FL	3
6	Woodstock, NY	3

Beyond the top three, the number of failures per city starts to distribute more evenly.

Notably, several cities share the fifth position with 4 bank failures:

Alpharetta (Georgia);
Bradenton (Florida);
Las Vegas (Nevada);
Los Angeles (California);
Miami (Florida); and
Scottsdale (Arizona).

Further in the list, many cities recorded three bank failures, including notable financial hubs like New York and San Francisco. The trend of decreasing bank failures continues, with numerous cities experiencing two or a single bank failure.

Bank Failures Do Not Exist in Isolation

The unsettling truth is that these aren't mere figures; they represent people's life savings, small businesses on the brink of closure, families struggling to cope, and communities trying to find their footing in an unstable economy.

It is worth noting that a bank failure does not exist in isolation: It has ripple effects on local communities and economies, influencing employment rates, local businesses, and consumer confidence.

Methodology:

We analyzed the total number of bank failures by city and state using Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) data on the Failed Bank List from 2000 to 2023. The data is ranked separately by city and state total number of bank failures. States that had 0 bank failures are not listed.