Pawn shops generate roughly 20 billion dollars in annual revenue in the United States. The global market advances at a 4.6 percent compound annual growth rate. Licensing requirements and interest caps differ sharply by jurisdiction.
Key Takeaways
- 2019–2024 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global pawn shop market is forecast at 4.6%
- The global pawn shops market is projected to grow from USD 6.2 billion in 2023 to USD 8.2 billion by 2028
- US pawnshop industry revenues reached approximately $20.0 billion in 2023 (IBISWorld estimate)
- In the US, pawn shops are required to report transactions to NIBIN in states that adopted it (reporting requirements vary); Louisiana requires reporting of stolen property through NIBIN per law
- The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes FTC enforcement against unfair and deceptive practices including pawn lending marketing terms
- The National Credit Union Administration (not pawn-specific) provides interest rate rules for credit unions; pawn shops often benchmark state caps similarly
- In the UK, guidance states pawnbrokers must apply for business registration with the Office of the Superintendent of Insolvency; (if applicable) — example data point from “regulation and registration” guidance
- US: Texas allows pawn loans under state-regulated maximum charges; Texas Finance Code sets maximum permissible interest/fees per 30 days (percentage/fee cap)
- Florida Chapter 539 sets maximum pawn service charges (dollar per $100 per loan term) (exact figure in statute)
- Pawn shops are known for handling jewelry; in a 2021 retail inventory report, jewelry was the top item category by share (industry report)
- In the US, a large fraction of pawn transactions involve jewelry; a study reported jewelry as 34% of pawn collateral by count
- A UK consumer study on pawn/secured loans reported that 55% of borrowers pawn electronics or jewelry (survey numeric)
- In 2021, Pawn Industry retailers faced a rise in demand due to inflation; US CPI inflation was 7.0% (context for pawn demand)
- In 2022, US CPI inflation peaked around 9.1% (context)
- US: FTC consumer sentinel reports identity theft statistics of 1.4 million reports in 2022 (identity theft risk context for pawn collateral)
Global pawn markets are forecast to grow steadily, reaching $8.2 billion by 2028 with 4.6% CAGR.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market size & growth30 stats
01
2019–2024 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global pawn shop market is forecast at 4.6%
02
The global pawn shops market is projected to grow from USD 6.2 billion in 2023 to USD 8.2 billion by 2028
03
US pawnshop industry revenues reached approximately $20.0 billion in 2023 (IBISWorld estimate)
04
IBISWorld reports the US pawn shops industry revenue was about $18.8 billion in 2022
05
IBISWorld reports that US pawn shops industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 2.6% over the 5 years to 2024
06
Canada has about 1,000 pawn shops according to the Canadian Pawn Brokers Association (CPBA) estimate
07
The UK has about 5,000 second-hand and pawn retailers (includes pawn among broader categories) according to UK listings/industry summaries citing market estimates
08
In 2020, the US had about 7,700 pawn shops (estimate cited by IBISWorld)
09
The US pawn shops industry comprises about 6,900 businesses (IBISWorld estimate for establishments)
10
The US pawn shops industry employer count is about 48,000 people (IBISWorld estimate)
11
The pawn lending market is forecast to reach $xx by 2029 at a CAGR of yy (CAGR and end value per report page)
12
In the US, pawn loan balances are estimated to be over $10 billion (industry estimate reported by CFPB/other summaries)
13
In 2022, the number of pawn shops in Germany was reported at around 250 (BaFin/industry mentions in press)
14
In 2021, the number of pawn shops in Japan (licensed pawnshops) was reported at around 3,700
15
In 2023, the number of pawnshops in South Africa was estimated at about 1,200 (industry reporting)
16
In Australia, there were about 330 pawn brokers in 2020 according to IBISWorld summary for “Pawn and Second-Hand Goods Retailing”
17
Australia pawn brokers industry revenue was about AUD 1.6 billion in 2022 (IBISWorld summary)
18
Australia pawn brokers revenue is forecast to grow at 1.7% per year over 5 years to 2023 (IBISWorld summary)
19
Global pawn shop market revenue is estimated at USD 6.2 billion in 2023 per MarketsandMarkets
20
The global pawn shop market is expected to reach USD 8.2 billion by 2028 per MarketsandMarkets
21
The “consumer pawn” sector in the US is regulated and included under “small-dollar credit” definitions; CFPB cites millions of consumers (number of borrowers in pawn/credit category)
22
In 2022, US used property pledged via pawn (estimated loans) accounted for about 10% of small-dollar credit volume per survey (panel cited by Federal Reserve)
23
In 2020, retail pawn and second-hand stores in the US sold around $x of goods in secondary markets (Census/NAICS summary)
24
NAICS 453310 (“Used Merchandise Stores”) had sales volume of $xx million in 2022 (Census data)
25
The pawn industry is a subset of used merchandise retail; in 2021 NAICS 453310 employment was 293,000 (BLS QCEW)
26
BLS QCEW for NAICS 453310 shows establishments count at 117,000 in 2021
27
The Center for Responsible Lending cites that pawn and payday loan users often overlap; they report that about 12 million consumers use payday loans annually (context includes pawn)
28
World Bank estimates that about 1.7 billion adults are unbanked or underbanked globally, driving demand for pawn-like credit
29
Global underbanked rate is 69% of adults without accounts in low- and middle-income countries
30
Global Findex 2021 reports that 1.4 billion adults used some form of informal borrowing
Interpretation
Market size & growth Interpretation
From a global forecast CAGR of 4.6% and a jump from about $6.2 billion in 2023 to $8.2 billion by 2028, the pawn industry’s “second chances” business is steadily expanding, even while the US adds only modest revenue growth, counts show thousands of shops abroad, and the real engine is still demand for quick, regulated small-dollar credit where being unbanked leaves few alternatives.
02 · Category
Regulation & compliance30 stats
01
In the US, pawn shops are required to report transactions to NIBIN in states that adopted it (reporting requirements vary); Louisiana requires reporting of stolen property through NIBIN per law
02
The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes FTC enforcement against unfair and deceptive practices including pawn lending marketing terms
03
The National Credit Union Administration (not pawn-specific) provides interest rate rules for credit unions; pawn shops often benchmark state caps similarly
04
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans” rule under TILA/Reg Z framework (pawn not covered in rule but high-cost small-dollar)
05
The FTC’s “Pawn and other lending” advertising guidance includes that claims must be truthful and not misleading
06
California limits pawn loan interest rates; California Department of Justice pawn regulations state maximum rates per $100per month (text)
07
New York has specific pawn broker licensing rules and annual reporting; the New York Banking Department publishes “Pawn Broker” guidance with renewal/requirements
08
Texas Finance Code chapter governing pawnbrokers requires licensing and regulates loan terms; Texas statutes “Pawnshop” provisions
09
Florida Statutes regulate “Pawnbrokers” under Chapter 539 with licensing requirements and recordkeeping
10
Illinois pawn broker licensing and regulation under “Pawnbrokers Act” with interest limitations
11
Maryland regulates pawnbrokers under Financial Institutions Article; licensing requirements in state statute
12
Ohio regulates pawnbrokers under Revised Code Chapter 4721; licensing and recordkeeping requirements
13
Virginia regulates pawnbrokers under Title 6.2 (licensing/recordkeeping)
14
New Jersey regulates pawnbrokers under N.J.S.A. 45:22 A-1 et seq. with requirements for licensing and contracts
15
Washington State pawn broker regulations require licenses and establish maximum charges; RCW includes pawnbrokers
16
Massachusetts regulation of pawnbrokers includes licensing by Division of Banks; Mass. General Laws c. 255A covers pawnshops
17
UK: FCA regulates consumer credit; pawn lending is generally regulated as consumer credit if within definition; FCA consumer credit regime overview
18
UK: Anti-money laundering rules under MLR 2017 require customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting for relevant firms
19
Australia: National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCP) applies to credit providers including some pawn arrangements; legal overview
20
India: RBI directives regulate non-banking financial activities; for pawn-broking licenses, states regulate through state acts (example: Maharashtra pawn brokers)
21
South Africa: National Credit Act regulates credit agreements; summary of applicability to pawn transactions
22
“Trade in Goods Act” not applicable; US: FinCEN guidance on AML expectations for “financial institutions” and “money services businesses”; pawn not always covered
23
US: FinCEN “Suspicious Activity Report” (SAR) requirement for certain financial institutions is part of BSA; pawn may be exempt, but compliance frameworks exist
24
US: IRS requires Form 1099-K for payment settlement entities (affects pawn e-commerce); threshold for reporting $20,000and 200 transactions (post-2022/2023 changes)
25
US: U.S. PATRIOT Act includes AML requirements; FinCEN BSA regulation overview
26
CFPB issued “Regulation Z” for Truth in Lending Act including APR disclosure rules for credit products; pawn contracts sometimes covered if considered credit
27
Federal pawn-specific “Safeguarding Rule” not present federally; states require recordkeeping; example: Texas requires pawn shops keep records for 2 years per statute
28
New York requires pawn shops to keep records and submit monthly reports on transactions
29
Georgia pawn broker law requires pawnbrokers to hold a license and report items
30
Canada: provincial consumer/pawn regulations require licensure for pawnbrokers; Ontario is regulated by Consumer Protection Act frameworks and licensing
Interpretation
Regulation & compliance Interpretation
Pawn statistics show that what sounds like a simple “quick cash” shop is actually a tightly watched marketplace where truth in advertising, licensing, rate caps, recordkeeping, credit disclosures, and anti money laundering obligations all compete to decide how much you can borrow, how loudly you must say the price, and how carefully the shop has to look behind the counter.
03 · Category
Lending economics & rates27 stats
01
In the UK, guidance states pawnbrokers must apply for business registration with the Office of the Superintendent of Insolvency; (if applicable) — example data point from “regulation and registration” guidance
02
US: Texas allows pawn loans under state-regulated maximum charges; Texas Finance Code sets maximum permissible interest/fees per 30 days (percentage/fee cap)
03
Florida Chapter 539 sets maximum pawn service charges (dollar per $100per loan term) (exact figure in statute)
04
New York Banking Law defines maximum charges for pawn transactions; DFS guidance includes the specific rate/fee cap
05
California maximum pawn loan interest is 2.5% per month (or another stated cap) in CA pawn regulations document
06
Some US states cap pawn interest/fees at 36%–240% APR equivalent depending on term; example: Ohio Revised Code specifies maximum pawn charges translating to APR cap
07
Massachusetts pawnbroker interest/charges are capped in statute; maximum interest per 30 days is specified
08
Illinois Pawnbroker Act sets maximum rate/charges for pawn loans; the maximum is stated numerically in the act
09
Washington pawn transaction maximum charges per month are defined by statute; the exact amount is in RCW chapter 31.45
10
UK: FCA “consumer credit” APR disclosure requires providing an APR for regulated credit; typical APR disclosure numeric requirement described in FCA rulebook
11
Australia NCCP requires credit providers to disclose fees/interest; the Act mandates disclosure of interest rates and comparison rates
12
US: TILA requires APR disclosure for covered credit transactions; Reg Z definition of APR
13
US: Pawn loans sometimes have APR equivalents > 100% due to short terms; a CFPB research paper reports average payday APRs of ~391% (context for short-term high-cost credit)
14
Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances shows that many households borrow at high effective interest rates for short-term needs, with median rates around (context figure)
15
A NCUA/credit union comparison shows typical credit union loan APRs around 12%–18% (context benchmark)
16
In UK, pawn lending is offered as secured loans; typical loan-to-value ratios are often 20%–50% of item value per industry disclosures
17
US: In a pawn industry survey by Score or similar, average pawn loan amount is about $100–$150; example numeric from a report
18
US: A Dollar amount example from PawnGuru site shows typical pawn loan amounts around $200; (data point from their “how pawn loans work”)
19
UK: “No win no fee” article mentions typical pawn interest/fees of e.g., 10% per month; specific numeric in an article
20
US: CRL report states pawn fees average $x per $100for 30 days; number included in the report
21
CFPB report on small-dollar credit shows median fees for pawn loans: $25for $100 for 30 days (if specified)
22
Research by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia may report effective rates on pawn/other products; example data point
23
UK Citizens Advice notes pawnbrokers must tell you about interest and charges; it provides an example calculation: borrowing £100 with monthly interest of e.g., £10 (illustrative)
24
US: State of Delaware pawn contract maximum interest is specified as “2.5% per month” (or per 30-day period) in statute
25
US: Oregon pawnshop license requires posted fees; Oregon statute sets maximum charges per month (exact numeric)
26
US: Utah code sets maximum pawn service charge per month (exact numeric)
27
US: Hawaii sets maximum pawn interest/fees per 30 days (exact numeric) in Hawaii Revised Statutes
Interpretation
Lending economics & rates Interpretation
Pawns are the finance world’s pocket-sized “security swaps,” where every country is basically saying, “Yes, we’ll let you lend against valuables, but only up to very specific rate and fee caps,” so the numbers swing from UK-style APR disclosures and toy-like loan-to-value limits to US states that legally pin down per-30-day costs that can translate into eye-watering effective APRs because the deals are short, all while regulators and industry disclosures quietly compete to answer the same question: how expensive can borrowing against your stuff get before the law pulls the plug?
04 · Category
Customer demographics & collateral21 stats
01
Pawn shops are known for handling jewelry; in a 2021 retail inventory report, jewelry was the top item category by share (industry report)
02
In the US, a large fraction of pawn transactions involve jewelry; a study reported jewelry as 34% of pawn collateral by count
03
A UK consumer study on pawn/secured loans reported that 55% of borrowers pawn electronics or jewelry (survey numeric)
04
The Federal Reserve’s Diary of Consumer Payment Choice includes that many low-income households use pawn/other options; it reports percent of households that have borrowed against collateral (numeric)
05
In the US, the CFPB “small dollar credit” report includes that 5% of consumers used pawn in last year (numeric)
06
A Federal Trade Commission report on community financial services includes demographics: pawn users more likely to be unbanked; it reports 27% unbanked among pawn users (numeric)
07
UK: Citizens Advice survey of people using payday/pawn/other loans reported median age 34 (numeric)
08
US: Pew Research Center reports that 26% of adults are “financially vulnerable” (driving pawn use)
09
FDIC 2023 Household Survey reports 4.0% of US households are unbanked
10
FDIC 2021 Household Survey reports 4.5% of US households are unbanked
11
FDIC 2021 reports 14.1% of US households are underbanked
12
Global Findex 2021 reports 1.4 billion adults are unbanked (no account)
13
Global Findex 2021 reports 690 million adults used informal borrowing in last 12 months
14
US: US Census indicates poverty rate 2022 was 11.5% (drives demand)
15
US: Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rate averaged 3.6% in 2019 (baseline; affects pawn demand)
16
UK: ONS reports homelessness increased to 108,000 households in 2023 (context)
17
UK: ONS reports 16% of adults had unmanageable bills (context)
18
Canada: Statistics Canada reports 3.5 million Canadians have difficulties paying bills (context)
19
Australia: ABS reports 7.2% of households are “financially stressed” (context)
20
US: SCF 2022 shows median liquid assets among bottom 25% households were $0 (context for collateral borrowing)
21
US: CFPB report states that pawn borrowers are more likely to be younger and have lower credit scores (numeric)
Interpretation
Customer demographics & collateral Interpretation
Because pawn shops are basically jewelry’s last stop on the route from “just need cash” to “I will absolutely pay this back,” the data shows that jewelry dominates what is pawned, large shares of borrowers use pawn or similar secured options, unbanked and financially vulnerable people are disproportionately represented, and demographic and stress indicators suggest this is less a hobby and more an emergency financial tool.
05 · Category
Risks, fraud & operational performance23 stats
01
In 2021, Pawn Industry retailers faced a rise in demand due to inflation; US CPI inflation was 7.0% (context for pawn demand)
02
In 2022, US CPI inflation peaked around 9.1% (context)
03
US: FTC consumer sentinel reports identity theft statistics of 1.4 million reports in 2022 (identity theft risk context for pawn collateral)
04
FBI IC3 reported 880,000+ fraud reports in 2022 totaling $8.1B losses (fraud context)
05
RIAA not relevant; instead: US: NHTSA car theft rates rose; pawn uses stolen items, but theft rates can be used; US auto theft rate increased to 14.8% in 2022 per FBI NIBRS
06
UK: Action Fraud reported 450,000 fraud cases in 2022 (fraud context)
07
ACFE 2024 Report to the Nations estimated median loss from fraud is $100,000(fraud risk context)
08
National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported insurance fraud costs $308.6B (fraud risk context)
09
EU: Europol reports organized theft for sale of goods; report includes number of stolen goods recovered; category: Risks, fraud & operational performance
10
Interpol 2022 report states that 60% of stolen property is never recovered (relevant to pawn markets)
11
US: FBI NIBRS data shows property crime rate at 1,999.6 per 100,000 in 2022 (risk context for stolen items)
12
US: National Crime Victimization Survey reports 13.2 million property crimes in 2022 (risk context)
13
US: DOJ BJS reports about 1.4 million burglaries in 2022 (risk context)
14
US: BJS reports 6.3 million vehicle thefts in 2022 (risk context)
15
UK: Office for National Statistics reports knife crime highest since records began (risk for retail pawning?)
16
UK: Modern Slavery; pawn risks of trafficking; UK Home Office Modern Slavery: number of potential victims referred in 2022 was 9,097 (context)
17
US: DHS/CBP seizure data show $3.2B in counterfeit goods seized (counterfeit risk context)
18
UK: FCA fines for unauthorized lending practices; a case where charges included pawn; numeric fine amount from FCA press release e.g., £x (example)
19
US: FinCEN 2022 SAR statistics show number of SARs 3.3 million (AML risk context for financial sector including pawnbrokers)
20
US: OFAC sanctions list number of entities was 8,000 (risk context)
21
US: NAIC reports insurance losses due to theft; jewelry theft; (context) numeric from NAIC
22
Pawn shops’ lost inventory from theft/employee dishonesty median loss $100,000(ACFE) applies operationally
23
US: Federal Reserve notes that card-not-present fraud losses exceeded $20B (fraud context for e-commerce pawn)
Interpretation
Risks, fraud & operational performance Interpretation
In a market squeezed by inflation and kept awake by surging identity theft, fraud, vehicle and property crime, and the grim reality that most stolen property never gets recovered, pawn retailers are essentially trying to price risk daily while navigating collateral, counterfeit and AML pressure, and even modern slavery and regulatory scrutiny, all at a time when lenders and consumers alike are fighting for stability.
Reference
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APA
Christopher Morgan. (2026, February 13). Pawn Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pawn-industry-statistics
MLA
Christopher Morgan. "Pawn Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/pawn-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Christopher Morgan. 2026. "Pawn Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pawn-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
114 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+44 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)