Personal Finance
Mapped: Personal Finance Education Requirements, by State
The Percentage of Students Receiving Personal Finance Education
When you graduated from high school, did you know how to create a budget? Did you have an understanding of what stocks and bonds were? Did you know how to do your own taxes?
For many Americans, the answer to these questions is probably a “no”. Only 22.7% of U.S. high school students are guaranteed to receive a personal finance education. While this is up from 16.4% in 2018, this still represents a small fraction of students.
This graphic uses data from Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) to show the percentage of high school students required to take a personal finance course by state.
A Closer Look at State-level Personal Finance Education
A standalone personal finance course was defined as a course that was at least one semester, which is equivalent to 60 consecutive instructional hours. Here’s the percentage of students in each state who have a required (not optional) personal finance course.
State/Territory | % of Students Required to Take Personal Finance Course |
---|---|
Mississippi | 100.0% |
Missouri | 100.0% |
Virginia | 100.0% |
Tennessee | 99.7% |
Alabama | 99.6% |
Utah | 99.6% |
Iowa | 91.3% |
North Carolina | 89.2% |
Oklahoma | 47.1% |
New Jersey | 43.0% |
Nebraska | 42.8% |
Kansas | 40.8% |
Wyoming | 38.3% |
Arkansas | 34.6% |
Wisconsin | 33.5% |
South Dakota | 27.1% |
Ohio | 23.5% |
Pennsylvania | 16.2% |
Maine | 15.6% |
Rhode Island | 14.8% |
Connecticut | 14.7% |
Illinois | 13.9% |
Maryland | 12.5% |
North Dakota | 12.2% |
Vermont | 12.1% |
Nevada | 11.0% |
Indiana | 10.9% |
Oregon | 7.5% |
Minnesota | 6.9% |
Montana | 6.9% |
New Hampshire | 6.0% |
Kentucky | 5.5% |
Colorado | 5.4% |
Delaware | 5.0% |
Massachusetts | 5.0% |
West Virginia | 3.2% |
Louisiana | 2.7% |
Washington | 2.4% |
Texas | 2.2% |
New York | 2.0% |
Michigan | 1.7% |
Idaho | 1.4% |
Arizona | 1.0% |
California | 0.8% |
South Carolina | 0.8% |
Alaska | 0.6% |
Florida | 0.4% |
New Mexico | 0.4% |
Georgia | 0.0% |
Hawaii | 0.0% |
Washington, D.C. | 0.0% |
Eight states currently have state-wide requirements for a personal finance course: Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. Naturally, the level of personal finance education is highest in these states.
Five states have begun the process of implementing a requirement, with Florida being the most populous state yet to guarantee personal finance education for high schoolers. The state previously required schools to offer a personal finance course as an elective, but only 5% of students took the course.
Outside of the guarantee states, only 9.3% of students are required to take a personal finance course. That number drops to 5% for schools that have a high percentage of Black or Brown students, while students eligible for a free or reduced lunch program (i.e. lower income students) also hover at the 5% number.
Why is Personal Financial Education Important?
The majority of Americans believe parents are responsible for teaching their children about personal finance. However, nearly a third of parents say they never talk to their children about finances. Personal finance education at school is one way to help fill that gap.
People who have received a financial education tend to have a higher level of financial literacy. In turn, this can lead to people being less likely to face financial difficulties.
People with low levels of financial literacy were five times more likely to be unable to cover one month of living expenses, when compared to people with high financial literacy. Separate research has found that implementing a state mandate for personal finance education led to improved credit scores and reduced delinquency rates.
Not only that, financial education can play a key role in building wealth. One survey found that only one-third of millionaires averaged a six-figure income over the course of their career. Instead of relying on high salaries, the success of most millionaires came from employing basic personal finance principles: investing early and consistently, avoiding credit card debt, and spending carefully using tools like budgets and coupons.
Expanding Access to Financial Education
Once the in-progress state requirements have been fully implemented, more than a third of U.S. high school students will have guaranteed access to a personal finance course. Momentum is expanding beyond guarantee states, too. There are 48 personal finance bills pending in 18 states according to NGPF’s financial education bill tracker.
Importantly, 88% of surveyed adults support personal finance education mandates—and most wish they had also been required to take a personal finance course themselves.
When we ask the next generation of graduates if they understand how to build a budget, it’s more likely that they will confidently say “yes”.
Personal Finance
Mapped: What You Need to Earn to Own a Home in 50 American Cities
What does it take to own a home in the U.S. in 2023? Here’s a look at the salary needed for home ownership in the top 50 metro areas.

What You Need to Earn to Own a Home in 50 American Cities
Once a fundamental part of the American dream, the ability to own a home is drifting farther and farther away for many Americans.
Between skyrocketing prices, stagnating wages, and now rising interest rates, the deck seems to be increasingly stacked against home ownership.
Using May 2023 data tabulated by Home Sweet Home, we map out the annual salary needed to afford a 30-year mortgage (at 6.37%) to buy a home in America’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas.
The monthly minimum mortgage payment includes taxes and insurance as well, and is capped at roughly one-third of the income. This analysis also assumes that the homeowner will put down a 20% down payment.
The Least and Most Affordable American Cities to Own a Home
At the top of the list, and at the very west of the country, San Jose is the least affordable city to own a home for the average American.
One would have to earn at least $374,000 a year to afford a $1.6 million dollar home in the city.
To put those numbers into perspective, the median American annual income is $75,000, about one-fifth what’s required to buy a home in San Jose.
Here’s a look at the annual earnings needed to afford a home in all 50 largest cities in the U.S., ranked from least to most affordable.
Rank | Metro Area | State | Median Home Price | Annual Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Jose | California | $1,618,400 | $373,696 |
2 | San Francisco | California | $1,192,600 | $282,167 |
3 | San Diego | California | $880,000 | $209,110 |
4 | Los Angeles | California | $746,800 | $181,106 |
5 | Seattle | Washington | $699,300 | $170,340 |
6 | Boston | Massachusetts | $644,400 | $165,239 |
7 | New York City | New York | $577,300 | $160,233 |
8 | Denver | Colorado | $636,100 | $150,622 |
9 | Washington, D.C. | N/A | $557,200 | $139,911 |
10 | Miami | Florida | $560,000 | $137,574 |
11 | Portland | Oregon | $556,800 | $136,147 |
12 | Riverside/San Bernardino | California | $550,000 | $133,607 |
13 | Austin | Texas | $467,900 | $128,995 |
14 | Sacramento | California | $500,000 | $125,304 |
15 | Salt Lake City | Utah | $522,700 | $122,717 |
16 | Providence | Rhode Island | $417,000 | $112,281 |
17 | Orlando | Florida | $419,900 | $104,772 |
18 | Dallas | Texas | $372,400 | $103,460 |
19 | Phoenix | Arizona | $439,700 | $103,112 |
20 | Raleigh | North Carolina | $420,000 | $102,572 |
21 | Las Vegas | Nevada | $431,400 | $101,310 |
22 | Tampa | Florida | $390,000 | $97,387 |
23 | Minneapolis | Michigan | $361,500 | $94,466 |
24 | Hartford | Connecticut | $314,900 | $93,861 |
25 | Charlotte | North Carolina | $387,200 | $93,735 |
26 | Jacksonville | Florida | $370,000 | $93,422 |
27 | Baltimore | Maryland | $357,800 | $93,378 |
28 | Nashville | Tennessee | $385,800 | $93,168 |
29 | Chicago | Illinois | $321,000 | $92,868 |
30 | Houston | Texas | $327,000 | $91,826 |
31 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | $339,600 | $89,752 |
32 | Atlanta | Georgia | $354,300 | $89,198 |
33 | Richmond | Virginia | $362,300 | $88,769 |
34 | San Antonio | Texas | $320,500 | $88,683 |
35 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | $315,300 | $87,293 |
36 | Virginia Beach | Virginia | $313,200 | $79,336 |
37 | Kansas City | Missouri | $291,000 | $76,147 |
38 | Columbus | Ohio | $284,700 | $76,133 |
39 | Indianapolis | Indiana | $289,300 | $71,409 |
40 | New Orleans | Louisiana | $265,200 | $68,946 |
41 | Memphis | Tennessee | $268,600 | $68,005 |
42 | Birmingham | Alabama | $276,500 | $67,773 |
43 | Cincinnati | Ohio | $252,200 | $66,260 |
44 | Buffalo | New York | $206,800 | $63,386 |
45 | St Louis | Missouri | $231,100 | $63,260 |
46 | Detroit | Michigan | $227,000 | $62,758 |
47 | Louisville | Kentucky | $246,000 | $62,741 |
48 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | $227,300 | $62,161 |
49 | Cleveland | Ohio | $191,400 | $55,515 |
50 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | $175,000 | $50,316 |
National | $371,200 | $97,204 |
Other Californian cities, San Francisco (ranked 2nd), San Diego (3rd), and Los Angeles (4th) all require an annual income of at least $180,000 to attempt home ownership within their metropolitan boundaries.
Boston (ranked 6th) and New York (ranked 7th) represent unaffordability on the East Coast, both requiring at least $160,000 a year to buy homes there.
It’s not just the coasts that are expensive however. To buy a home in Denver (ranked 8th) and Salt Lake City (15th) means earning more than $120,000 a year.
However, cities in the Midwest and South, like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Louisville, are far more affordable, requiring less than $63,000 a year to buy a home.
Interest Rates Rock Home Ownership Chances
Aside from the obvious price differences in housing markets, a key factor that has elevated income requirements across the board is the rapid rise in interest rates in the last year. In fact the average 30-year mortgage has pushed past 7%, the highest it’s been since the 2000s.
This means that while the median price of a house in San Jose has actually come down between 2022 and 2023, the minimum monthly payment has increased from $7,717 to $8,720 this year.
Rank | Metro Area | State | Median Home Price | Monthly Payment |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Jose | California | $1,618,400 | $8,720 |
2 | San Francisco | California | $1,192,600 | $6,584 |
3 | San Diego | California | $880,000 | $4,879 |
4 | Los Angeles | California | $746,800 | $4,226 |
5 | Seattle | Washington | $699,300 | $3,975 |
6 | Boston | Massachusetts | $644,400 | $3,856 |
7 | New York City | New York | $577,300 | $3,739 |
8 | Denver | Colorado | $636,100 | $3,515 |
9 | Washington, D.C. | N/A | $557,200 | $3,265 |
10 | Miami | Florida | $560,000 | $3,210 |
11 | Portland | Oregon | $556,800 | $3,177 |
12 | Riverside/San Bernardino | California | $550,000 | $3,118 |
13 | Austin | Texas | $467,900 | $3,010 |
14 | Sacramento | California | $500,000 | $2,924 |
15 | Salt Lake City | Utah | $522,700 | $2,863 |
16 | Providence | Rhode Island | $417,000 | $2,620 |
17 | Orlando | Florida | $419,900 | $2,445 |
18 | Dallas | Texas | $372,400 | $2,414 |
19 | Phoenix | Arizona | $439,700 | $2,406 |
20 | Raleigh | North Carolina | $420,000 | $2,393 |
21 | Las Vegas | Nevada | $431,400 | $2,364 |
22 | Tampa | Florida | $390,000 | $2,272 |
23 | Minneapolis | Michigan | $361,500 | $2,204 |
24 | Hartford | Connecticut | $314,900 | $2,190 |
25 | Charlotte | North Carolina | $387,200 | $2,187 |
26 | Jacksonville | Florida | $370,000 | $2,180 |
27 | Baltimore | Maryland | $357,800 | $2,179 |
28 | Nashville | Tennessee | $385,800 | $2,174 |
29 | Chicago | Illinois | $321,000 | $2,167 |
30 | Houston | Texas | $327,000 | $2,143 |
31 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | $339,600 | $2,094 |
32 | Atlanta | Georgia | $354,300 | $2,081 |
33 | Richmond | Virginia | $362,300 | $2,071 |
34 | San Antonio | Texas | $320,500 | $2,069 |
35 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | $315,300 | $2,037 |
36 | Virginia Beach | Virginia | $313,200 | $1,851 |
37 | Kansas City | Missouri | $291,000 | $1,777 |
38 | Columbus | Ohio | $284,700 | $1,776 |
39 | Indianapolis | Indiana | $289,300 | $1,666 |
40 | New Orleans | Louisiana | $265,200 | $1,609 |
41 | Memphis | Tennessee | $268,600 | $1,587 |
42 | Birmingham | Alabama | $276,500 | $1,581 |
43 | Cincinnati | Ohio | $252,200 | $1,546 |
44 | Buffalo | New York | $206,800 | $1,479 |
45 | St Louis | Missouri | $231,100 | $1,476 |
46 | Detroit | Michigan | $227,000 | $1,464 |
47 | Louisville | Kentucky | $246,000 | $1,464 |
48 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | $227,300 | $1,450 |
49 | Cleveland | Ohio | $191,400 | $1,295 |
50 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | $175,000 | $1,174 |
National | $371,200 | $2,268 |
So to afford a median-priced home in the country, an American needs to earn closer to $100,000 a year, up from $75,500 in 2022. And even then, they would be priced out of owning a home in nearly half of the 50 largest cities in the country.
As a result Americans may yet further delay home ownership. Renting is now a far more attractive option, thanks to the biggest difference between rent and mortgages in over 50 years.
Where Does This Data Come From?
Source: Home Sweet Home (HSH).
Note: HSH used different sources for their median home prices, mortgage rate, property taxes and home insurance figures for their analysis. Please visit their website for more information.
Other: If other personal debts exceed 8% of one’s given monthly gross income, this may increase the salary needed to qualify for a mortgage.
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