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These Cities are Best at Money Management

Though 40 percent of Americans say they're struggling to make ends meet, it seems residents of Greenville, South Carolina, have their finances pretty well figured out. According to a new analysis from LendingTree, Greenville residents are the best in the country at living within their means.

LendingTree's analysis, which looked at household income, mortgage balances, number of credit inquiries, use of revolving credit, and non-housing debt, ranked the nation's top 50 metro areas by "how successfully residents are spending within their means."

Greenville took the No. 1 spot, despite having the second-lowest household income out of all 50 cities. Residents are using just over 27 percent of their revolving credit, and their housing debt balances average just 62 percent of their income—a big dip compared to the 50-city average of 79 percent.

Greensboro, North Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri, took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the list. Greensboro residents have less than four credit inquiries in the last two years, while those in Kansas City have less debt (both housing and non-housing) than the 50-city average.

LendingTree also ranked the cities where residents are worst at living within their means, and topping the list was San Antonio. According to analysis, residents of the historic Texas town use lots of revolving credit, have high debt balances, and take out bigger installment loans.

"San Antonio residents have non-housing debt balances that represent 55 percent of their annual income, the highest of the 50 metros analyzed," LendingTree reported. "Big loans for cars and trucks could be a factor, with San Antonio residents having an average balance of $30,599 in installment loans, the highest of the metros analyzed and 26 percent above the average."

Las Vegas and Phoenix were also ranked at the bottom of the list.

Overall, the average resident in the 50 ranked cities uses about 30 percent of their revolving credit availability, which includes home equity lines of credit and credit cards.

"They also have mortgage balances averaging 79 percent of their annual income and non-housing debt balances averaging 44 percent of annual income, and have had five credit inquiries in the last two years," LendingTree reported.

About Author: Aly J. Yale

Aly J. Yale is a longtime writer and editor from Texas. Her resume boasts positions with The Dallas Morning News, NBC, PBS, and various other regional and national publications. She has also worked with both the Five Star Institute and REO Red Book, as well as various other mortgage industry clients on content strategy, blogging, marketing, and more.
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