Post WWII Era

Although the U.S. credit union movement saw little progress during WWII, the war's end brought renewed credit union growth. In 1945 there were 8,683 credit unions in the country; by 1955 there were 16,201, and by 1969 the U.S. movement reached its peak of 23,876 credit unions.

Since the 1970s, many smaller credit unions have merged into larger ones that offer a wider range of services. Although this has caused the number of credit unions to decline, membership continued - and continues - to climb. The number of credit union members doubled during the 1970s to more than 43 million. Today, nearly 85 million Americans are credit union members.