2018’s Most & Least Financially Literate States

WalletHub, Apr 4, 2018

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.

But how much have we learned since, and what are we doing to help future generations avoid repeating our mistakes?

Not enough, it would seem. We ended 2017 with $92.2 billion in new credit-card debt, the highest increase since 2007. That’s unsurprising, considering that only two in five adults actually have a budget. For the first time ever, total American credit card debt has passed $1 trillion, so it’s clear that better financial education is necessary to try to turn this trend around. But the problems aren’t as pronounced in every state; some are more responsible than others.

In order to find the states with the best financial literacy, WalletHub analyzed financial-education programs and consumer habits — combined with the results of WalletHub’s proprietary WalletLiteracy Survey — in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their data set of 15 key metrics ranges from high-school financial literacy grade to share of adults with rainy-day funds….

read …Full Report

Hawaii

• 41 -- Overall Rank
• 57.92 -- Total Score
• 18 -- ‘WalletLiteracy’ Rank
• 47 -- ‘Financial Planning & Habits’ Rank
• 35 -- ‘Financial Knowledge & Education’ Rank
• 4 -- Lowest Share of Unbanked Households
• 4 -- Highest Stare of Adults with Rainy-Day Funds