As strange as it may seem, not all Americans are a pro at money management despite it being a skill that impacts their daily lives. WalletHub [1] recently listed the cities with the best and worst money-management skills.
Three California cities, made it into the top five (Cupertino, Los Altos, and Saratoga), followed by Scarsdale, New York and Sun City, Florida. On the bottom end of the spectrum, Fairburn, Lithonia, and Colleague Park in Georgia are the three worst cities with Bastrop, Louisiana, and Dolton, Illinois closing out the bottom five.
To rank their list of more than 2,500 cities, WalletHub based their finding on 10 key metrics, each graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the best-money-management skills. WalletHub used data from TransUnion and RealtyTrac.
One of the metrics used was mortgage debt-to-income ratio. The top five cities maintaining the lowest mortgage debt-to-income ratio were East St. Louis, Illinois; Chester, Pennsylvania; West Mifflin, Pennsylvania; Niagara Falls, New York; and McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
In an article that corresponded with WalletHub’s findings, financial writer Adam McCann studied the 2017 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey prepared for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and The Boeing Employees’ Credit Union by Harris Poll. McCann found that U.S. households pay little to no attention to financial literacy. While 80 percent of the population surveyed indicated they need professional guidance on matters related to personal finance, only 40 percent suggested they maintain a budget to manage their finances. A debt-free life and fantastic credit are then just a consequence of handling your finances the right way.