See Where Oregon Ranks for Financial Literacy

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Thursday, March 30, 2017

GoLocalPDX Business Team

How financially literate is Oregon? 

According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Oregon ranks 27th in the country for financial literacy. 

“The issue of widespread financial illiteracy garnered significant attention in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The housing-market collapse and ensuing financial crisis served as a stark reminder of our societal obsession with debt as well as the dangers of fingertip financial access in the hands of under-informed consumers,” said WalletHub. 

Oregon ranks 35th for WalletLiteracy, 32nd for financial planning and habits and 29th for financial knowledge and education. 

The Rankings

Oregon ranks behind Wyoming and West Virginia who rank 25th and 26th respectively. Oregon ranks ahead of South Carolina and Indiana who rank 28th and 29th respectively. 

New Hampshire is ranked as the most financially literate state while Louisiana is ranked as the least. 

See the Rankings in the map below. 

The Method 

In order to determine the most financially literate states from the least, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) WalletHub’s “WalletLiteracy Survey” Score, 2) Financial Planning & Habits and 3) Financial Knowledge & Education.

They evaluated those dimensions using 15 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of financial literacy.

WalletHub then calculated the overall score for each state based on its weighted average across all metrics and combined those results with the responses to our WalletLiteracy Survey to construct our final ranking.

Financial Planning & Habits – Total Points: 25

• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Spend More than They Earn: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Adults with Rainy-Day Funds: Double Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Save for Their Children’s College Education: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Unbanked Households: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Adults Borrowing from Nonbank Lenders: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Adults Paying Only Minimum on Their Credit Card(s): Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Compare Credit Cards Before Applying: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)

 

Financial Knowledge & Education – Total Points: 25

• High-School Financial Literacy Grade: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Public High-School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Scored at Least 80 Percent on FINRA’s Financial Capability Study: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Attended Financial-Education Classes or Counselling Sessions in Past 12 Months: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Share of Adults with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Number of Library Branches per 100,000 Library-Service Population: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)

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