Financial literacy can help people weather the difficulties of economy and be prepared for temporary economic downturns and periods of great growth.

But what are we doing to help future generations build prosperity? Not enough, it would seem from a recent report by WalletHub. For example, we ended 2025 with nearly $1.39 trillion in total credit card debt, and nearly 2 in 5 Americans say they will have more credit card debt by the end of 2026. Of states, Oklahoma appears at the bottom of the states list, the forty-ninth least financially literate.

It’s clear that better financial education is necessary to try to turn this trend around, and certain states are leading the way while others are lagging behind. To identify the states with the best financial literacy, WalletHub analyzed financial-education programs and consumer habits in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with the results of WalletHub’s proprietary WalletLiteracy Survey. Our data set of 17 key metrics ranges from high-school financial literacy grades to the share of adults with rainy-day funds.

“Too many Americans lack comprehensive financial literacy, which causes them to have lower credit scores, prevents them from getting credit with good interest rates and lowers the amount of wealth they build throughout their life, among other negative consequences. Because financial literacy is so essential, states should prioritize teaching it from a young age. It’s not surprising that the most financially literate states all require personal-finance education before students graduate from high school,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst.

Main Findings

Most Financially Literate States

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	WalletLiteracy Rank	Financial Planning & Habits Rank	Financial Knowledge & Education Rank
1	Minnesota	71.37	7	6	1
2	Colorado	70.28	9	1	10
3	Wisconsin	69.66	15	11	3
4	New Hampshire	68.91	5	5	19
5	Virginia	68.51	28	3	2
6	Pennsylvania	68.09	26	7	6
7	Ohio	67.27	30	4	11
8	Nebraska	66.66	8	40	9
9	New Jersey	66.59	17	19	16
10	Maryland	65.92	12	9	27
11	Kansas	65.90	10	44	7
12	Florida	65.56	36	13	14
13	Vermont	65.48	4	16	32
14	Iowa	65.11	13	29	20
15	Washington	65.09	11	10	33
16	Michigan	64.85	22	15	21
17	North Carolina	64.47	37	23	13
18	Texas	64.21	41	28	8
19	Maine	64.16	1	30	37
20	Indiana	63.86	33	27	17
21	Missouri	63.66	40	32	12
22	Arizona	63.52	18	37	23
23	Oregon	63.35	46	31	5
24	Utah	63.27	48	25	4
25	Massachusetts	63.04	19	8	40
26	North Dakota	62.41	21	39	24
27	Connecticut	61.98	50	14	18
28	Idaho	61.86	39	22	25
29	Georgia	61.75	32	26	26
30	Illinois	61.61	27	21	35
31	Delaware	61.58	29	20	31
32	South Carolina	61.04	31	36	29
33	New York	60.38	23	12	43
34	Rhode Island	59.90	34	34	36
35	West Virginia	59.43	25	51	22
36	Wyoming	59.17	3	42	45
37	Alabama	58.73	44	33	34
38	California	58.58	42	18	42
39	Kentucky	58.56	51	41	15
40	Tennessee	58.55	49	24	30
41	Nevada	58.48	45	43	28
42	District of Columbia	58.19	16	2	49
43	New Mexico	57.53	24	48	41
44	Hawaii	57.33	20	17	48
45	Montana	57.09	2	47	47
46	Mississippi	56.67	38	50	38
47	Louisiana	55.93	43	46	39
48	Alaska	55.77	6	35	50
49	Oklahoma	53.88	35	49	44
50	South Dakota	53.72	14	38	51
51	Arkansas	51.77	47	45	46

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

• Main Findings
• In-Depth Look at the Most Financially Literate States
• Detailed Findings
• Correlation Analysis
• Methodology