Study ranks which cities are best at budgeting. Where did the 4 Washington cities rank?
These days, it often seems like it’s getting harder and harder to make a budget and stick to it. Nearly 70% of Americans with a budget say rising costs are the biggest obstacle they face, according to a recent survey through personal finance site WalletHub.
It’d be one thing if only luxury goods were increasing in price, but everything is becoming increasingly more costly at a faster pace than people can keep up with. Necessities like food, water and living spaces are all becoming more expensive as well.
Source: WalletHub
But are some areas better at budgeting than others? WalletHub conducted a study across nearly 200 cities in the U.S. to compare budgetary success.
Four Washington state cities were noted as having residents that are good at budgeting. All four ranked in the top 20 cities, including the one crowned best at budgeting.
Which U.S. cities are best at budgeting?
WalletHub used data to analyze 12 key metrics across 182 cities. Of those, the ten cities deemed at budgeting are:
Seattle, Washington
Honolulu, Hawai’i
Boston, Massachusetts
Fremont, California
San Francisco, California
Madison, Wisconsin
San Diego, California
Vancouver, Washington
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Huntington Beach, California
Not far down the list, Spokane ranked 14 and Tacoma ranked 18.
Source: WalletHub
The ten cities deemed worst at budgeting, with the absolute worst stated last, are:
Toledo, Ohio
Huntington, West Virginia
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Augusta, Georgia
Memphis, Tennessee
Shreveport, Louisiana
Mobile, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Gulfport, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Why is Seattle best at budgeting?
The Emerald City did well on multiple aspects of data analysis. The twelve metrics used in the study’s methodology were:
Total non-mortgage debt as a percentage of median income
Bankruptcy rate
Foreclosure rate
Housing expenses as a percentage of median home price
Total non-housing expenses relative to average income
Credit utilization
Percentage of the population spending more than they make
Percentage of the population paying only the minimum on their credit cards
Average credit score
Delinquency rate (mortgages, auto loans, student loans and credit cards)
Rainy day funds
Percentage of unbanked households
When looking at debt-to-income ratios, Seattle has some of the lowest for credit card debt, only 9% of the average median yearly income, student loan debt, 51%, and car loan debt, 24%.
Seattle residents also use just above a third of their available credit on average, one of the lowest credit utilization rates in the country at 34.1%. WalletHub experts recommend using up to 30%, but the lowest in the study was 32%. That said, some of the other cities were approaching the 60% mark.
According to WalletHub, Seattle also has one of the lowest mortgage delinquency rates in the country.
