How much have Americans learned since the Great Recession?
Not enough, according to WalletHub.
WalletHub released its report on 2017's Most & Least Financially Literate States, which analyzes financial education programs and consumer habits in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to WalletHub, "we ended 2016 with $89.2 billion in new credit card debt, the highest increase since 2007."
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In addition, only two in five adults actually have a budget, and 18% of Americans spend more than they make.
While these stats show there's still a long road to financial literacy, WalletHub finds that some states are taking the necessary measures to foster a financially prosperous future. Below are the 10 states that are considered the "most financially literate" by WalletHub's analysis.
In order to distinguish the most financially literate states from the least, WalletHub's analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: WalletHub's WalletLiteracy Survey score; financial planning and habits; and financial knowledge and education.
The WalletLiteracy score was calculated based on the grades earned by 8,740 responses nationally to WalletHub's WalletLiteracy Survey. The financial planning and habits score was based on things like the share of adults who spend more than they earn, save for their children's college education or pay only minimum on their credit cards.
The inancial knowledge and education score was based on metrics, such as high school financial literacy grade, public high school graduation rate, and the share of adults who scored at least 80% on the Financial Inustry Regulatory Authority's financial capability study.
These, then, are the 10 smartest states for financial literacy:
10. Montana
Total Score: 66.81
WalletLiteracy Rank: 3
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 23
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 24
9. Colorado
Total Score: 66.83
WalletLiteracy Rank: 18
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 21
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 10
8. Illinois
Total Score: 67.06
WalletLiteracy Rank: 11
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 26
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 14
7. New Jersey
Total Score: 67.50
WalletLiteracy Rank: 16
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 16
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 9
6. Maryland
Total Score: 68.33
WalletLiteracy Rank: 22
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 22
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 3
5. Virginia
Total Score: 68.39
WalletLiteracy Rank: 32
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 14
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 2
4. Maine
Total Score: 68.68
WalletLiteracy Rank: 5
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 8
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 18
3. North Dakota
Total Score: 68.75
WalletLiteracy Rank: 29
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 2
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 7
2. Minnesota
Total Score: 70.67
WalletLiteracy Rank: 8
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 6
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 4
1. New Hampshire
Total Score: 72.26
WalletLiteracy Rank: 4
Financial Planning & Habits Rank: 1
Financial Knowledge & Education Rank: 6
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Emily Zulz
Emily joined the ThinkAdvisor team as a reporter in the summer of 2014. She previously worked as a reporter for The Daily Journal in Kankakee, Illinois for a year and as a reporter and editor for The Daily Eastern News in Charleston, Illinois for two and a half years. Prior to joining ThinkAdvisor, Emily worked on Groupon’s editorial team in Chicago as a fact checker for three years. She graduated cum laude with a BA in journalism from Eastern Illinois University, and she has been the recipient of two journalism awards for her news reporting at daily newspapers.
