Banks provide critical services to their communities. From savings accounts to home loans, their local branches help individuals navigate economic hurdles and reach their life goals.
But access to banks is not equal. Following the 2008 recession, thousands of bank branches closed around the country, often in low-income and minority neighborhoods. Many of them have struggled to return, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
Areas without banks are known as “bank deserts.” To help understand the extent of bank deserts in Philadelphia, I calculated the 15-minute walking zones around all FDIC-insured banks.
The map’s central insight is that large bank deserts exist in the neighborhoods of Strawberry Mansion, Cobb’s Creek, and Kingsessing. Smaller gaps exist throughout North and West Philadelphia. By contrast, Center City and South Philadelphia have total coverage.
Areas in blue are within a 15-minute walk of a bank. Gray line shows city limits.
Updated 1/14/2024
About the Data
Data for this project come from the FDIC website’s BankFind tool. Walking zone information comes from the Mapbox API.