{"version":"2026-cost-of-being-poor","name":"SwitchWize Cost of Being Poor (Poverty Premium)","snapshotDate":"2026","citeAs":"SwitchWize, \"The Cost of Being Poor: The Poverty Premium (2026 Report).\" Retrieved 2026.","sourcePage":"https://www.switchwize.com/learn/cost-of-being-poor-2026","note":"The poverty premium has no single official US dollar total; components are reported individually.","components":{"paydayLoanAprPct":400,"paydayFeePer100Usd":15,"loan500PaydayUsd":75,"loan500PaydayRenewedUsd":175,"loan500CreditUnionPalUsd":15,"carInsuranceLowCreditPremiumUsd":1600,"unbankedHouseholds":5600000,"underbankedSharePct":14,"checkCashingFeePctRange":[1.5,3],"housingBurdenUnder30kIncomePct":41},"sources":[{"label":"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau","detail":"Payday loan fees and ~400% APR.","url":"https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-payday-loan-en-1567/"},{"label":"FDIC","detail":"2023 unbanked and underbanked household survey.","url":"https://www.fdic.gov/household-survey/2023-fdic-national-survey-unbanked-and-underbanked-households-report"},{"label":"Industry analysis","detail":"Credit-based insurance score premium difference; US Census housing-burden data; NCUA payday alternative loans."}],"methodology":{"summary":"Low-income households pay more for the same credit, banking, and insurance; the premiums compound (low credit raises insurance and deposits, high-cost borrowing worsens credit), making it a trap rather than a list of prices.","caveat":"The ~$1,600 insurance figure and renewal costs vary by state, insurer, and borrower; some premiums reflect genuine risk, but not the full gap."}}