Massachusetts residents are the strongest household budgeters in the United States, according to WalletHub’s 2026 ranking of the 50 states.
The personal finance site scored states on spending and debt, credit and savings. Massachusetts finished first with 81.97 points. It posted the lowest median credit card debt relative to income, at 4 percent, and the lowest share of car loan debt, at 20 percent. Fifty-three percent of residents have emergency savings, and the median credit score is 741.
Washington ranked second at 77.88. Hawaii placed third at 77.07. Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey completed the top 10.
Mississippi ranked last with 28.00 points. Louisiana scored 36.55, and Arkansas 40.83. Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Nevada, West Virginia and New Mexico also landed near the bottom.
WalletHub weighted spending and debt at 50 percent of the score. Credit and savings each counted for 25 percent. The metrics included non-mortgage debt versus income, bankruptcy and foreclosure rates, housing costs, credit utilization, the share of people who spend more than they earn, average credit scores, loan delinquency and rainy-day savings.
The study found that 83 percent of Americans who keep a budget say rising costs are the biggest obstacle to sticking with it.
Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst, said: “Not having a budget sets you up for financial failure. If you don’t carefully plan out and track how much of your income you can dedicate toward each of your expenses and other financial priorities each month, it’s easy for frivolous spending to get out of hand and prevent you from saving money, investing or even keeping up with your bills. Unfortunately, many people were never taught how to budget, so states should strongly consider requiring instruction on budgeting in schools.”
Data were collected as of Aug. 5, 2026, from the Census, TransUnion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the FDIC, and other sources. The full ranking is published on WalletHub.com.
