Most and Least Financially Literate States in America

Wallet Hub, a one-stop destination for tools and information consumers and small business owners need to make better financial decisions and save money, assessed 50 states and the District of Columbia regarding financial literacy based on two categories: (i) knowledge and education; and (ii) planning and daily habits, to determine which states are the “smartest” and “dumbest” in the area of financial literacy.

New Hampshire was named the smartest state because it ranks first in both categories. New Hampshire has the lowest high school dropout rate (1.2%) and the least unbanked households (1.9%).

On the other hand, Mississippi was named the dumbest state. It has the most unbanked households (15.1%) and the second highest high school dropout rate (7.4%) among all surveyed areas.

In the survey, different financial literacy experts provide recommendations to the federal government regarding ways to improve financial literacy. One example is Henry Levin from Teachers College at Columbia University, who urged the federal government to develop campaigns to raise the awareness of both the importance of financial literacy and practical problems that can be addressed by financial literacy via social media, conventional print and electronic media. More information regarding the survey can be found here.