As Megan Pedersen of Midvale struggled with finances, she was tempted constantly by the bright yellow or green awnings of stores advertising instant payday loans. "It seemed like they were on every corner."

She finally decided to try one seven years ago to avoid asking her parents again for money. She says paying off the loan stores' 500-percent-or-so interest is hard, but she still uses them occasionally because they offer a quick, convenient way to handle emergencies.

Pedersen is not just imagining that payday lenders are rampant in Utah. Data show they are.

Industry critics say that may be because Utah's laws are especially friendly to the industry. Lenders, however, say Utah may simply have more needy people than in other states.

Regardless, the lenders' numbers are booming, and debt counselors say that problems from them are, too, especially among the poor and Hispanics. Their neighborhoods also happen to be where payday lenders are most heavily concentrated, although the industry insists it does not specifically target those groups.

The boom

Recent growth of payday lenders in Utah has been astronomical. The first store appeared in Utah in 1984. In 1994, 17 were in the Salt Lake area. Now, state-license lists show Utah has 381 payday loan stores and online lenders licensed here.

That means Utah has more payday loan stores than 7-Elevens, McDonald's, Burger Kings and Subway stores -- combined.

Utah also has a far higher rate of payday lenders per resident than average. States that allow payday lenders average one store per 10,000 residents. Utah averages 1.6 per 10,000 residents.

Morning News analysis shows that 74 percent of Utahns live in a ZIP code with at least one payday lender. (ZIP codes without any payday lenders tend to be either in lightly populated rural areas or in the wealthiest of areas.) Even some unlikely tiny towns such as Midway, Salina, Hyde Park and Grantsville have payday lenders.

Such stores in Utah are scattered among poor, middle-income and high-income areas. That may be unusual. News reports in other states repeatedly say stores there are heavily concentrated in poor areas and virtually nonexistent in rich places. While poorer Utah areas have higher than average numbers of payday lenders, stores here are still found in communities of about every economic ilk.

"Their business is built on being convenient and fast," said Frank Pignanelli, attorney, lobbyist for the industry's Utah Consumer Lending Association and a Morning News political columnist, giving one reason why payday lenders have become the 7-Elevens of the financial world and have located seemingly everywhere to offer quick service -- at a higher price. Not surprisingly, many are open late, even until midnight. A few are now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The payday loan industry's Consumer Credit Research Foundation says surveys show 5 percent of Americans have had a payday loan and 10 percent say they are somewhat or very likely to obtain one in the future.

Why so many?

Industry critics say one reason so many payday lenders may locate here is that few states have friendlier laws for the industry than Utah.

It is among 39 states that explicitly allow such loans. It is among 10 with no cap on interest rates or fees. It is among two with no maximum amounts for such loans. Utah has among the longest limits for "rolling over" or extending loans at high interest: 12 weeks. Most states ban rollovers.

"They obviously like doing business here with those kind of laws," said Linda Hilton, coordinator of the Coalition of Religious Communities, an advocacy group for the poor.

The Morning News also found that some online lenders offering payday loans nationwide via the Internet are located in Utah, apparently to take advantage of its friendly laws.

For example, Instant Cash Flow (cashthis.net) says as part of its online application form, "Our loans are governed by Utah law. Utah law governing payday loans may differ from the laws of the state where you reside. If you do not want to enter into a loan agreement subject to Utah law, you should apply for this loan at a lender located in the state where you live."

Utah-based online lenders can charge higher rates than would be allowed in most states. For example, Global Pay Day (Cashnet500.com) of Murray charges $30 for a two-week, $100 loan. The annual percentage rate is 782 percent. That is higher than maximum rates allowed by at least 23 of 39 states that explicitly allow payday loans, not to mention the 11 states that have not legalized them but likely do not try to stop such Internet transactions.

Quik Payday, based in Logan, was issued a cease-and-desist advisory a few years ago by Colorado's consumer credit regulator for offering Internet loans at rates higher than Colorado allows. Quik Payday charged $20 per $100 for loans up to $500. Colorado caps rates at 20 percent for two weeks on the first $300, and 7.5 percent for loans from $300 to $500.