And America’s Most Money-Savvy State Is …

A state that has received a lot of good press lately has been named the most money-savvy in the United States. Find out where residents hold on to their pennies.

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Karla Bowsher • October 13, 2015

North Dakota is on a roll.

In the past three months alone, the state has been recognized as home to three of the nation’s top five cities in regard to residents’ financial health and as the nation’s second-best state for girls to grow up in.

Now a third organization, GoBankingRates.com, has deemed North Dakota the nation’s most money-savvy state.

The website studied data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the nonprofit Council for Economic Education and think tank the Urban Institute to evaluate every state and the District of Columbia in three categories:

Use of banking services.
Saving and investing behaviors.
Financial education policies within the state (weighted less heavily than the other two categories).

The least money-savvy state is Mississippi — which is a reflection of the state’s broader economic issues, according to GoBankingRates.com.

Casey Bond, editor-in-chief of GoBankingRates.com, says of the website’s findings:

“This study highlights a few concerning regional trends when it comes to money management skills among Americans. The southern region of the country clearly lacks the resources needed for residents to take an active role in their financial well-being, and illustrates a need for Americans living in this region to proactively take steps to improve their money habits.”