Survey: North Carolina is 2023’s 9th most financially literate state

With April being National Financial Literacy Month and less than half of adults setting a budget, the free credit score website WalletHub released its report on 2023’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, along with expert commentary.

After the Great Recession, it became clear that more people needed to learn financial literacy. The housing-market collapse and following financial crisis reminded Americans of our obsession with debt and the dangers of quick access to finances for under-informed consumers. The importance for people to be smart about their finances became even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains crucial in the present during this period of high inflation.

But how much have we learned from past mistakes, and what are we doing to help future generations avoid repeating them?

Not enough, it would seem. We ended 2022 with over $1 trillion in total credit-card debt. Our mountain of debt is unsurprising, considering that less than half of adults actually have a budget. It’s clear that better financial education is necessary to try to turn this trend around. The problems aren’t as pronounced in every state, though. Some states are more responsible than others.

The study uses a data set of 17 key metrics, which range from high-school financial literacy grade to the share of adults with a rainy-day fund. The metrics also include the results of WalletHub’s WalletLiteracy Survey.

Financial Literacy in North Carolina (1=Most Financially Literate, 25=Avg.):

14^th – % of Adults Aged 18+ Who Spend More than They Earn
20^th – % of Unbanked Households
30^th – % of Adults Aged 18+ Who Compare Credit Cards Before Applying
1^st – High-School Financial Literacy Grade
22^nd – Public High-School Graduation Rate

Most Financially Literate States

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	WalletLiteracy	Financial Planning & Habits	Financial Knowledge & Education
1	Nebraska	69.06	30	3	7
2	Utah	68.54	11	2	32
3	Virginia	68.41	12	1	36
4	Colorado	68.40	2	8	8
5	Minnesota	67.86	1	10	10
6	Iowa	67.12	32	6	12
7	Washington	66.68	3	11	13
8	Maine	65.64	24	15	1
9	North Carolina	65.44	37	4	34
10	Ohio	65.13	42	5	27
11	Wisconsin	64.69	4	24	6
12	Maryland	64.28	14	20	11
13	Vermont	63.84	23	23	5
14	Massachusetts	63.57	7	19	25
15	New Hampshire	63.21	9	35	3
16	New Jersey	63.01	25	21	15
17	Illinois	62.58	28	14	28
18	Delaware	62.15	10	22	29
19	North Dakota	61.53	16	25	26
20	Missouri	61.32	44	7	43
21	Pennsylvania	61.28	21	27	22
22	Oregon	61.06	19	12	46
23	Kansas	61.05	35	28	14
24	Texas	60.84	36	13	42
25	Michigan	60.52	26	31	20
26	Indiana	60.52	40	16	35
27	Montana	60.37	38	42	2
28	Rhode Island	60.33	18	29	30
29	Hawaii	60.17	6	41	21
30	Alabama	59.96	41	9	47
31	Florida	59.62	15	30	41
32	Wyoming	59.61	29	47	4
33	Arizona	59.43	33	37	18
34	New York	58.75	17	44	23
35	Idaho	58.69	20	34	38
36	California	58.44	5	43	39
37	District of Columbia	58.21	13	48	19
38	Tennessee	58.13	39	17	48
39	Georgia	57.40	43	32	37
40	Alaska	57.26	22	51	9
41	Connecticut	57.09	8	33	49
42	Nevada	57.03	31	36	44
43	West Virginia	56.90	47	38	24
44	South Dakota	56.45	27	50	17
45	South Carolina	55.85	34	46	31
46	Kentucky	55.73	46	18	51
47	Mississippi	55.56	51	26	33
48	Oklahoma	54.24	50	40	40
49	New Mexico	54.13	49	49	16
50	Louisiana	53.18	48	39	45
51	Arkansas	51.00	45	45	50

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Most Financially Literate States

Share this:

Like this:

Post navigation