Cities Where People Have the Best Money Management Skills

Curious to know how your own money-management skills compare to those of the average person in your city? Join WalletHub for a free analysis of your credit report and credit score, updated daily.

One of the best ways to develop your money management skills is learning how to budget. Carefully creating a budget to plan out how you spend each dollar of your income will help you pay your bills on time while also meeting financial goals like paying down debt or saving for the future.

Money management is a life skill that, unfortunately, isn’t taught as often as it should be. It’s a skill that everyone should want to learn, too, as it can bring about flawless credit and freedom from debt. Plus, good money management skills can help keep your budget in order even in the midst of inflation. You’ll also get more out of every dollar you earn, and consequently live a more comfortable life.

Some Americans are better at handling their finances than others. In order to determine where people have the best financial skills and where they need to improve, WalletHub compared more than 2,500 cities based on 10 key indicators of money management. Our data set ranges from the average credit score to the average number of late payments in the past year to the mortgage debt-to-income ratio. Below, you can see how WalletHub ranked each city as a whole and in several key categories.

“Many Americans have unfortunately never been taught good money management skills, but it’s never too late to learn. Our study found that in the cities where people are best at money management, residents have significantly higher credit scores than average, well into the excellent credit range. This is due to a combination of low debt-to-income ratios, restrained credit utilization, and low rates of late payments and delinquency.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

In-Depth Look at the Best Cities

Cupertino, CA

Cupertino, CA, is the city where people have the best money management skills, in part because residents’ credit card debts are extremely low compared to their incomes. In fact, the median credit card debt ($2,790) is only around 1.6% of the median income ($178,180), which is the lowest ratio in the country. 

This indicates that many people keep their utilization very low and pay their balance off every month. In fact, Cupertino residents only use around 26% of their available credit, the seventh-lowest percentage in the country. They also have the third-fewest late payments per person in the past 12 months, and the third-lowest debt delinquency rate.

The median credit score in Cupertino is 778, very firmly into the excellent credit range.

Palo Alto, CA

Palo Alto, CA, another Silicon Valley city, ranks as the second-best city when it comes to money management. The city has the lowest share of people who declared bankruptcy in the past 12 months, and only 0.8% of residents are delinquent on debt, the 5th-lowest percentage in the country. Palo Alto also has the ninth-fewest late payments per person in the past 12 months. 

In addition, the median credit card debt in Palo Alto is just 2.2% of the median income, the seventh-lowest percentage. The city has the third-lowest ratio when it comes to student debt and the fifth-lowest for auto loan debt, too. Palo Alto residents do have expensive mortgages, though – the median mortgage debt ($700,027) is around 408% of the median income ($171,677).

Palo Alto residents have a high median credit score as well, at 772, which is another indicator of consistently responsible financial behavior.

Chevy Chase, MD

Chevy Chase, MD, residents have the third-best money management skills. The median car loan debt is just 9.3% of the median income, which is the fourth-lowest percentage in the country. Chevy Chase has the seventh-lowest ratio for student loan debt and 18th-lowest for credit card debt, too. This shows that people are not borrowing beyond their means.

People in Chevy Chase further demonstrate financial responsibility with extremely low bankruptcy rates, along with the 13th-fewest late payments per person in the past 12 months. Plus, only around 1.3% of people are delinquent on their debt, which is the 28th-lowest percentage in the country.

To top things off, the average Chevy Chase resident has a credit score of 777, only 23 points away from what WalletHub considers to be perfect credit (800-850).