Iowa is Among the Most Financially Literate States in the Country

Apparently, Iowans know a thing or two about their finances. Iowa has ranked among the top ten states who manage their money well.

April just happens to be National Financial Literacy Month. Generally not something we celebrate, but maybe we should. The free credit score website, WalletHub recently released its report on this year's Most & Least Financially Literate states and Iowa ranks high in a few respectable categories.

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

• 11^th – WalletHub’s ‘WalletLiteracy Survey’ Score
• 5^th – % of Unbanked Households
• 2^nd – % of Adults Aged 18+ Paying Only Minimum on Credit Card(s)
• 7^th – High-School Financial Literacy Grade
• 13^th – Median Credit Score

The Great Recession, the housing market collapse, and our obsession with debt have taught Iowans a thing or two about money. But not everyone learned from the mistakes of the past. Americans ended 2021 with close to $1 trillion in total credit card debt. That's not surprising since less than half of adults actually have a budget. Clearly, we need more financial education to address the situation.  

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Just this week I put myself on a budget after I wondered where all my money was going. Apparently, I really enjoy cocktails with friends and eating out. It's still okay to do those things, but you might want to keep track of where your money is going especially since everything seems to cost more lately.

The WalletHub survey used 17 key metrics ranging from high school financial literacy grade to share of adults with rainy day funds. Here are the findings of the survey.

Iowa ranks number 8 overall with Nebraska taking the top spot. Utah, Virginia, Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Maine are financially literate.  The worst states for financial literacy include Alaska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Louisiana, and Arkansas. 

You can see how other states ran when it comes to putting money away for a rainy day and which states have the best and worst public high school graduation rates too. Iowa ranks high in that category as well, which means our students are learning something about finance in school. Want to know more about how the data was gathered? You'll find the study here along with tips from the experts on how we can best educate our kids and become more financially literate ourselves.