Best Bank for Branch Access

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

NerdWallet reviewed the top 25 financial institutions by domestic deposit assets, the top 25 by number of branches, the top 20 by search volume, the top 10 credit unions by membership, the top 10 credit unions by deposits, and emerging and notable players.

How we chose the winner:

The winning bank or credit union was the one with the highest rating in the branches category, which is based on the number of branches available to consumers.
In case of a tie, financial institutions were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained:
  • Most institution-owned branches.
  • Checking (monthly fees contributed to 50% of the rating, domestic ATMs 33.3%, interest rate 13.3% and required minimum opening deposit 3.3%).

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet writers and editors confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each financial institution’s website. If an institution’s website was missing information, we contacted a representative directly for confirmation.