Daytona Beach, FL - A new report shows that residents in some local cities rank with some of the worst in the country when it comes to money management.
That's according to the financial website, WalletHub, and their latest report listing 2019's best and worst at money management.
"It's been about 10 years since the Great Recession so we're checking in to see how well people are managing their money," says Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub.
To make the report, WalletHub compared the residents of 2,572 different cities throughout the United States on 10 different metrics. Some of those metrics include student debt-to-income ratios, median credit scores
Cities were ranked from 1 to 2,572, with 1 having the best residents at money management and 2,572 having the worst. Eight Volusia County cities and one Flagler County city made the list, with three ranked not too far from the bottom.
New Smyrna Beach ranks as number one out of the nine local cities ranked, with a national ranking of 918th. Deltona ranked the lowest, coming in at 2,338th nationally.
Just above Deltona came both Daytona Beach and Edgewater, with a national ranking of 2,262nd and 2,077th, respectively.
One of the key differences between New Smyrna and Deltona include a 61-point difference between median credit scores with New Smyrna at 722 (tied with Ormond Beach) and Deltona at 661. New Smyrna residents also had a lower average number of late payments.
Daytona Beach had a lower median credit score than Deltona, but the residents of Daytona ranked higher when it came to the average number of late payments and credit card debt-to-income ratio.
Palm Coast was the only Flagler city ranked by WalletHub, coming in at 6th out of the nine local cities and 1,960th nationally.
You can find a full breakdown of Volusia/Flagler County by clicking here.
When it came to states and their average credit card debt, Florida residents ranked lower at 32nd place with an average debt of $2,603. Iowa came in first at $2,091 and Alaska came last with $4,144.
According to Gonzalez, there are a couple of reasons why some cities and states, including Florida, rank low when it comes to money management, one of them being financial literacy.
"People might not have the most knowledge on those topics," said Gonzalez. "That's why we're seeing people slip up when it comes to finances."
One former local politician, the late Dorothy Hukill, pushed for financial literacy to be taught in schools. After her death, her former aide, Elizabeth Fetterhoff, sponsored a bill, named after Hukill, advocating financial literacy classes in school.
When it came to Florida, The Villages ranked as the best in the state and 30th nationally. Ruskin was ranked as the worst city in the state, with a national ranking of 2,547th.
Cupertino, California topped the list and Leesville, Louisiana came in last.
Maps and statistics courtesy of WalletHub.
