With holiday shopping inching us closer to a record year for credit card debt and resolution season not far off, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released an in-depth report on 2017’s Best & Worst Cities for Wallet Fitness.
Wallet Fitness is about turning the country’s biggest stressor – money, according to the American Psychological Association – into one of your biggest strengths. Reaching top Wallet Fitness means you’re in a stable financial position, able to comfortably meet existing obligations as well as plan for the future.
With that in mind, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 29 key metrics – ranging from unemployment, poverty and foreclosure rates to income volatility and savings habits – to see where people are in the best and worst financial shape. You can find a handful of highlights below.
| 10 Best Cities for Wallet Fitness | 10 Worst Cities for Wallet Fitness | ||||
| 1 | Fremont, CA | 173 | Oxnard, CA | ||
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | 174 | Miami, FL | ||
| 3 | Madison, WI | 175 | New Orleans, LA | ||
| 4 | Columbia, MD | 176 | Gulfport, MS | ||
| 5 | San Jose, CA | 177 | Santa Ana, CA | ||
| 6 | Seattle, WA | 178 | Brownsville, TX | ||
| 7 | Minneapolis, MN | 179 | San Bernardino, CA | ||
| 8 | Sioux Falls, SD | 180 | North Las Vegas, NV | ||
| 9 | Bismarck, ND | 181 | Newark, NJ | ||
| 10 | Warwick, RI | 182 | Hialeah, FL |
Best vs. Worst
- Columbia, Maryland, has the highest median household income (adjusted for cost of living), $87,240, which is 3.4 times higher than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest at $25,850.
- Detroit has the lowest median credit card debt per person, $1,750, which is 2.4 times lower than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the highest at $4,122.
- Burlington, Vermont, has the lowest share of unbanked/underbanked households, 12.9 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in San Antonio, Texas, the city with the highest at 42.6 percent.
- Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest share of uninsured residents, 3.8 percent, which is 9.1 times lower than in the Brownsville, Texas, the city with the highest at 34.6 percent.
- New York has the lowest foreclosure rate, 0.0088 percent, which is 30.9 times lower than in the North Las Vegas, Nevada, the city with the highest at 0.2717 percent.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/