Any Chicago resident over 18 years old with a bank account may be eligible for quick and easy Payday loans. $100 - $1,000 cash advances are very popular among 2,704,958 people living there. It can be explained, first, by mild law, and, second, by a high poverty and unemployment rate. 21.7 percent of Chicagoans live in poverty. The city has an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent. The minimum wage is only $8.25 while the total debt is $20.2 billion (or $7,500 per capita).