Key findings
- The least cash-dependent cities in the U.S. are Denver and Atlanta.
- The three most cash-dependent cities are El Paso, Wichita, and Arlington, Texas.
- New York, San Jose, and Los Angeles have the most businesses that accept cryptocurrencies.
The least cash-dependent cities in the U.S.
More and more alternative payment options pop up each year, and now, the majority of businesses will accept at least one of them. Today, patrons can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to pay for their groceries or dry cleaning.
We took a look at samples of a variety of different commercial businesses in major U.S. cities, from restaurants to dry cleaners to gyms, all highly rated via Yelp. In over half of the major U.S. cities we reviewed, more than 90% of the businesses accept some form of electronic payment.
Denver and Atlanta are the least cash-dependent cities in the country, with 97% of local businesses accepting electronic payment, whether it’s via credit card, Apple Pay, crypto, or some combination.
Quite a few cities in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest have converted from cash, too. Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, and Las Vegas are leaning into electronic payments — 96% of the businesses in these cities accept them. In Washington, D.C. 96% of the businesses we reviewed accept electronic payments as well.
The most cash-dependent cities in the U.S.
Even now, some cities retain a sizable chunk of cash-only businesses.
El Paso (29%), Wichita (24%), and Arlington, Texas, (22%) are the most cash-dependent major cities in the country. In El Paso, 64% of the restaurants and nearly half (44%) of the bars are cash-only.
Interestingly, major metropolitan areas are also bastions of small, local businesses. San Francisco (#17) and New York City (#19) are among the top-25 most cash-dependent cities in the U.S., with about 1 in 10 businesses still operating on a cash-only basis.
Which cities take different types of electronic payments?
It seems like we store on our phones more of our lives each year, from Insta-worthy photos to preferred payment methods, and some of those payment options have become more common in the everyday marketplace. We know credit card payments are pretty standard now, but what about Apple Pay? Cryptocurrencies? We measured the number of businesses in each city that accept these alternative payment methods.
Major coastal cities are on the very cutting edge of electronic payments. We found New York (6%), San Jose (5%), and Los Angeles (5%) boast the most businesses that will take crypto instead of cash.
Digital wallets are also great electronic payment options. In some places, up to a third of businesses we assessed accept Apple Pay. San Jose (32%), Miami (32%), and Los Angeles (31%) have the most businesses that accept Apple Pay.
As technologies and security improve, more businesses may start taking your electronic payments. If you’re swapping cash for cards, you can always sharpen your security with additional protection to prevent theft and fraud.
Methodology: We reviewed up to 225 of the highest rated businesses on Yelp in the 50 largest U.S. cities, for a total of 10,070 businesses. We included up to 25 businesses in each of the following categories which comprise the typical urban retail experience:
- Restaurants
- Dry Cleaning
- Hair Salons
- Phone Repair
- Gyms
- Bars
- Massage
- Nightlight
- Shopping
Here is the full list of cities and businesses included in this study:
- New York NY - 225
- Los Angeles CA - 225
- Chicago IL - 225
- Houston TX - 225
- Phoenix AZ - 194
- Philadelphia PA - 225
- San Antonio TX - 225
- San Diego CA - 225
- Dallas TX - 225
- San Jose CA - 225
- Austin TX - 225
- Jacksonville FL - 225
- Fort Worth TX - 225
- Columbus OH - 225
- Indianapolis IN - 225
- Charlotte NC - 225
- San Francisco CA - 225
- Seattle WA - 225
- Denver CO - 225
- Oklahoma City OK - 225
- Nashville TN - 225
- El Paso TX - 213
- Washington DC - 225
- Boston MA - 225
- Las Vegas NV - 225
- Portland OR - 225
- Detroit MI - 225
- Louisville KY - 224
- Memphis TN - 189
- Baltimore MD - 225
- Milwaukee WI - 225
- Albuquerque NM - 221
- Fresno CA - 209
- Tucson AZ - 215
- Sacramento CA - 225
- Mesa AZ - 153
- Kansas City MO - 225
- Atlanta GA - 225
- Omaha NE - 225
- Colorado Springs CO - 218
- Raleigh NC - 225
- Virginia Beach VA - 214
- Long Beach CA - 225
- Miami FL - 225
- Oakland CA - 225
- Minneapolis MN - 225
- Tulsa OK - 202
- Bakersfield CA - 199
- Wichita KS - 186
- Arlington TX - 225
Article by
Yevgeniy Reznik
Yevgeniy Reznik is Laboratory Operations Manager at Secure Data Recovery Services in Cleveland, Ohio, and has more than a decade of experience as a data recovery engineer. He graduated from Cleveland State University with a degree in computer science and spent 15 years as an IT entrepreneur and small business owner before joining the company.
FAQs
Cashless Consumer Statistics
In 2022, 11.0% of American consumers did not use any cash at all. The share of American adults using little to no cash on a weekly basis grew an estimated 16.6% between 2022 and 2024 for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.96%.
Which country has the highest rate of cashless transactions? ›
Just fill in our quick form. Norways is the most cashless country, with only around 2% of payments being made by cash, and 100% of the population having a bank account.
How close are we to a cashless society? ›
The US is moving toward cashless payments, with a substantial increase in the use of mobile wallet apps and contactless cards. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that payments made using cash accounted for just 18% of all US payments in 2022.
Is cash still popular in the USA? ›
Cash is the most commonly used form of payment, with 67% of respondents favoring it, demonstrating its enduring appeal for physical transactions. Debit cards (42% using chip and 35% swipe) and credit cards (35% using chip and 26% swipe) also remain popular.
Is any country 100% cashless? ›
A cashless society runs totally on a government-backed digital currency. And while no societies are 100% cashless at the moment, some countries, like Sweden and China, appear to be headed that way.
Why are people against cashless? ›
A concern closely linked to security is privacy. Identity theft and compromised personal information are potential dangers in a cashless economy, but privacy might be compromised in other ways too.
What is the most popular cashless payment? ›
Top 10: Digital Payment Platforms 2024
- Cash App. Cash App is a P2P payment app that lets individuals quickly send, receive and invest money. ...
- Venmo. ...
- Samsung Pay. ...
- Paytm. ...
- PhonePe. ...
- PayPal. ...
- Google Pay. ...
- Apple Pay.
The high rate of internet usage, a supportive regulatory framework and the government's push for a cashless society – with COVID-19 as the impetus to introduce the digital yuan to replace physical bank notes – all contributed to the success of mobile payments in China.
What are the disadvantages of a cashless economy? ›
The downsides of going cashless include less privacy, greater exposure to hacking, technological dependency, magnifying economic inequality, and more. Credit and debit cards, electronic payment apps, mobile payment services, and virtual currencies in use today could pave the way to a fully cashless society.
Why shouldn t the US go cashless? ›
The Drawbacks of a Cashless Society
Without cash, we would be forced to leave a record of everything we buy. While this may not bother some, there are many who worry that governments and/or corporations could use our purchasing histories as a way to track us, monitor us, and even intimidate us.
The concept of a cashless society has been around for decades. But with 80% of payments in the US being made digitally in 2022, and four in ten of us ditching change altogether, research suggests that the transition from physical currency could take place sooner than we once thought.
Is cash going to be obsolete? ›
If it's been a long time since you pulled out actual dollars and coins to pay for something — here's a conversation for you. It might seem like cash is slowly becoming obsolete. But, Brett Scott says it's a false narrative that we're all pining for a cashless society.
Why are so many places going cashless? ›
No Cash Processing Costs
Banks may charge fees, for example, for counting and accepting coin deposits. Businesses that have lots of cash often have to pay for armored car services. Small businesses spend billions of dollars per year on cash processing costs, but those that choose to go cashless avoid these expenses.
Are more Americans joining the cashless economy? ›
In a 2022 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 41% of Americans said they weren't using cash in a typical week, up from 29% in 2018 and 24% in 2015. The amount of Americans who said they mostly used cash shrank, from 24% in 2015 and 18% in 2018 to 14% in 2022.
What will replace money in the future? ›
The future of money is expected to be heavily influenced by technology. Predictions include the rise of cashless societies, the growth of cryptocurrencies, the continued adoption of digital currencies, and the potential offering of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by governments.
What percentage of all transactions are cash? ›
The share of payments made using cash declined slightly from 2020 and 2021 to 18 percent of all payments, driven by an increase in non-cash payments and not a decrease in cash payments. The share of in-person purchases and person-to-person (P2P) payments remained steady since 2020 at 81 percent.
What percent of transactions are done in cash? ›
In 2019, 26% of payments were in cash in the US, but that fell to 19%, 20% and 18% respectively in the following three years. The proportion of payments made by credit card rose from 18% in 2016 to 31% in 2022. Payments made by debit card rose to 29% of the total in the same year, from 27% in 2016.
What percentage of transactions are completed using cash? ›
According to studies conducted by the Federal Reserve, cash usage has been on a steady decline. In 2021, cash was used for approximately 20% of all transactions. Fast forward to 2024, and the downward trend persists, with reports indicating that cash payments now represent a mere 16% of all transactions.
What percentage of transactions are digital in the US? ›
The wallet's digital renaissance
Not only has digital-payments penetration increased to 89 percent in 2022, but the share of respondents who report using two or more forms of digital payments has grown even more rapidly—from 51 percent in 2021 to 62 percent.
