InCharge(R) Institute Conducts Metro Area Study to Assess
Personal Financial Fitness
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study by InCharge(R)
Institute of America, a nonprofit organization specializing in personal
finance education, research and credit counseling, ranks 314 U.S. metropolitan
areas to determine which are leading the nation in personal "financial
fitness." The study looks at how different population centers measure up in
offering the economic climate and conditions that promote financial fitness
for its citizens. The results of this study are being presented today at the
U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
"Consumer Financial Fitness in Metropolitan Areas," the study performed by
the research team at InCharge(R) Education Foundation, ranked the
Wilmington/Newark Delaware metropolitan area first in the nation, both overall
and among America's largest population centers (in excess of 500,000
citizens). Trenton, New Jersey topped the ranks for mid-sized metro areas
(200,000 to 500,000 population), and Bloomington/Normal, Illinois scored the
highest among smaller regions (fewer than 200,000 citizens). (See tables
listing the top ten metro areas in each category below).
The study was conducted in late 2004 and examined 314 metropolitan areas
across the three population categories. The analysis utilized five factors to
define and measure "financial fitness:"
* Real personal disposable income -- Total personal income minus personal
current taxes. This is the amount ultimately available to families for
personal expenditures and savings.
* Employment opportunities -- Since wages and salaries produce most of
personal income, employment is an important indicator of financial
success -- not only at the family level, but also on a local and
national level. It can be expected that greater financial fitness will
be associated with areas with higher employment opportunities.
* Credit worthiness -- How well is consumer income covering consumer
expenditures and debts? What is the debt to income ratio? Excessive
consumer debt is the largest threat to economic well-being. For this
study, 2003 Equifax average Beacon credit scores were used to determine
the credit worthiness of a metropolitan area.
* Levels of savings -- Savings is one of the most important indicators of
financial wellness. Savings buys financial security. Domestic
deposits held or accepted in FDIC insured commercial banks in 2003 by
metropolitan area were used to measure this factor.
* Refinancing activity -- Refinancing is connected to financial worth,
and reflects the ability to convert non-financial assets -- like one's
home -- into money that can be used to decrease debt or to spend or
invest in things that will deliver higher returns.
"There are tangible actions that local and regional leaders can take in
order to promote financial fitness -- be it through economic policymaking, or
through community education and outreach programs," explained Rebecca Stiehl,
president of InCharge Education Foundation. "The factors we used to measure
financial fitness provide a solid roadmap for local policymakers to take steps
to improve and enhance each region's economic strength. There are clearly
metropolitan areas that are excelling in offering their citizens a strong
economic climate and opportunities, and the rest of us can learn a lot from
them."
"This is a sign of our growing economic strength in Trenton -- the hub of
our region," explains Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, upon hearing the news that
his city was named the most financially fit among mid-sized regions. "The
five factors InCharge used in its analysis make Trenton a dynamic area as it
relates to mixed use development, market rate housing and private sector
development."
Recognizing that a community's financial wellness plays a large role in
the overall well-being of its citizens, several mayors and other local leaders
are aggressively promoting education programs in their communities and
schools. For example, as part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' national
DOLLAR WI$E Campaign -- an initiative encouraging the development of ongoing
local financial literacy strategies -- InCharge piloted a financial literacy
program with the office of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in October 2004. In
connection with the Child Care Coordinating Council (4C) of Detroit/Wayne
County, a "Train the Trainers" program was conducted to provide educators with
a credit and money management education program. More recently, InCharge
launched the same program in Miami, Florida, in conjunction with the Office of
Mayor Manuel A. Diaz and Miami Dade College.
For more information, contact Trish Wexler at (703) 200-5571, or
trish@wexcomm.com. The study also will be available on InCharge Education
Foundation's website, http://education.incharge.org.
Please see the following:
* Trends and Notable Facts from study
* Top 10 Financially Fit Cities lists for each of the three population
categories (large, mid-sized and small)
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, InCharge(R) Institute of America, Inc.
is a national non-profit organization specializing in personal finance
education and credit counseling. The InCharge Institute family includes
InCharge(R) Education Foundation, which publishes YOUNG MONEY(R) magazine and
Military Money(TM) magazine and offers basic financial management education to
clients and the general public, and InCharge(R) Debt Solutions, which provides
professional credit counseling and education services. InCharge is a member
of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies
(AICCCA). For additional information, visit http://www.InCharge.org.
Trends and Notable Facts from
Consumer Financial Fitness of Metropolitan Areas Study
1. Three states -- Wisconsin (6), California (4), and Minnesota (3) --
account for almost half the total of 30. Wisconsin and California alone
account for one third of the total.
2. Fifteen states are represented in the three Top 10 lists. Of those,
eight have multiple metropolitan areas represented.
3. Cities with major state university communities are well represented:
Madison (University of Wisconsin), Minneapolis-St. Paul (University of
Minnesota), Boulder (University of Colorado), Burlington (University of
Vermont), Bloomington-Normal (Illinois State University), Iowa City
(University of Iowa), Fargo (North Dakota State University), Columbia,
Missouri (University of Missouri) and Salt Lake City (University of Utah).
Many of the other communities (particularly the metropolitan areas of New York
City, San Francisco and Chicago) have multiple major institutions of higher
learning.
4. In some cases, more than one of the individual "primary" metro areas
used for the study are within larger "combined" metro areas, meaning there is
a high level of financial fitness across that broader urban community.
Examples -- San Francisco Bay Area and adjoining portions of Northern
California (all four California communities), the Delaware Valley area around
Philadelphia (Trenton and Wilmington) and metropolitan New York City (NYC,
plus Nassau-Suffolk, Long Island, and Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon in New
Jersey).
5. Interestingly, a group of contiguous states in the upper Midwest has
half the communities -- Wisconsin (6), Minnesota (3), Illinois (2), Iowa (2),
North Dakota (1) and South Dakota (1)
Table A: Top 10 Metropolitan Areas with Populations Over 500,000
Metro Overall Geography Population
Standing (2003 est.)
Rank Score Metropolitan Area 000's
1 100 Wilmington-Newark DE-MD PMSA 608
2 72 San Francisco CA PMSA 1,695
3 48 Boston MA-NH NECMA 6,158
4 46 New York NY PMSA 9,419
5 43 Salt Lake City-Ogden UT MSA 1,386
6 43 Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon NJ PMSA 1,221
7 38 San Jose CA PMSA 1,678
8 38 Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI MSA 3,084
9 35 Chicago IL PMSA 8,492
10 33 Nassau-Suffolk NY PMSA 2,808
Table B: Metropolitan Areas with Populations Between 200,000 to 500,000
Metro Overall Geography Population
Standing (2003 est.)
Rank Score Metropolitan Area 000's
1 100 Trenton NJ PMSA 362
2 74 Madison WI MSA 449
3 67 Boulder-Longmont CO PMSA 278
4 66 Green Bay WI MSA 234
5 65 Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah WI MSA 369
6 63 Burlington VT NECMA 204
7 62 Barnstable-Yarmouth MA NECMA 230
8 59 Santa Rosa CA PMSA 467
9 59 Des Moines IA MSA 477
10 56 Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA PMSA 252
Table C: Metropolitan Areas with Populations Under 200,000
Metro Overall Geography Population
Standing (2003 est.)
Rank Score Metropolitan Area 000's
1 100 Bloomington-Normal IL MSA 157
2 96 Sioux Falls SD MSA 184
3 85 Rochester MN MSA 131
4 84 Wausau WI MSA 127
5 82 Iowa City IA MSA 116
6 82 St. Cloud MN MSA 174
7 80 Sheboygan WI MSA 113
8 79 Fargo-Moorhead ND-MN MSA 179
9 77 Columbia MO MSA 141
10 76 La Crosse WI-MN MSA 129
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