From 2020 to 2025, the number of U.S. banks declined by 13% while average asset size per institution grew 33% to $5.8 billion.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of U.S. banks continued its steady decline while average assets per institution rose, reflecting consolidation, limited new bank creation and continued balance-sheet growth among surviving institutions. This analysis examines the 2020-2025 period, but both industry consolidation and reduced de novo bank formation are long-term trends that have been underway for decades. For context, there were more than 14,000 FDIC-insured institutions during the early to mid-1980s.