These fact sheets—created by Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), and Consumer Federation of America (CFA)—shed light on the number of Americans in each state who have reached out to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for help and have benefitted from the CFPB’s work to hold companies accountable for abusive, predatory, and deceptive practices. The information in these fact sheets is drawn from the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database. All complaint data used in these fact sheets represent the total number of complaints over the period from December 1, 2011, to mid-February, 2025. See below for data definitions.
View the Fact Sheets: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dsC-LQb5OVh2xBWVJzvU5ocFCZRxTt_g?usp=share_link
Read the Press Release: https://protectborrowers.org/as-cfpb-faces-existential-threat-advocates-release-state-by-state-factsheets-on-agencys-impact/
Data Definitions
- Complaints submitted by consumers is the total number of complaints from consumers that the CFPB got a response from a company. According to the CFPB, 98% of complaints sent to companies get timely responses. See more on the CFPB’s Complaints Database.
- Complaints from servicemembers is the total number of complaints from servicemembers submitted to the CFPB that got a response from a company.
- Complaints from older Americans is the total number of complaints from Americans aged 62 and older that got a response from a company. Consumers provide their age in about 20% of complaints. See CFPB’s 2024 Consumer Response Annual Report.
- Complaints from consumers in rural areas is the total number of complaints from rural communities that the CFPB got a response from a company.
- Complaints that yielded relief is the total number of complaints that resulted in money back or other relief to consumers.
- Percentage increase in complaint volume is the percentage increase in complaints from 2024 compared to 2023. These figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.