Answer: Minnesota

Questions: 

• What individual behaviors lead to high credit scores?
• Many of the states with high credit scores are in the upper Midwest. Why do you think this might be true? 
• Would you expect Minnesotans to have large credit card balances? Why or why not? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from Experian's State of Credit):

There are regional differences in average credit scores. Minnesotans have the highest scores in the nation, averaging 709 — above No. 2, Vermont, at 702. There might be some connection between cold weather and credit scores, as the next three-highest states are New Hampshire (701), South Dakota (700), and Massachusetts (699).

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Additional resources:

• Find out how your city compares to others in your area/state by going to this WalletHub report which compares credit scores in over 2,500 cities. 
• NGPF has a popular Credit Across U.S. Communities interactive in which students analyze credit statistics at the county level. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.