North Carolina ranks fourth-worst for financial security, report finds
RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina ranks among the states where financial security is most difficult to achieve, despite having a lower cost of living than many other parts of the country, according to a new ConsumerAffairs analysis.
The report ranks North Carolina fourth-worst in the nation for financial security, behind Hawaii, California and Alaska. Washington rounded out the five states where financial security was considered least achievable.
ConsumerAffairs based the rankings on two factors: median household income adjusted for cost of living and average household debt per person. Income accounted for 60% of each state’s score, while debt made up the remaining 40%.
According to the analysis, the typical North Carolina household earns $67,220 annually. When adjusted for the state’s cost of living, that income has purchasing power equivalent to about $68,732 in an area with average U.S. living costs.
North Carolina residents also carry an average of $61,070 in household debt per person, according to the report.
The rankings were released alongside a ConsumerAffairs survey of 1,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 64 about what they believe is necessary to feel financially secure. The most common benchmark for minimum annual income was $62,000.
Cost of living was the most commonly cited obstacle to financial security, with 46% of survey respondents identifying it as their biggest challenge. Debt was second at 12%.
More than half of respondents said financial security means not living paycheck to paycheck, while 40% associated it with being debt-free.
ConsumerAffairs found Kansas ranked as the state where financial security is most achievable, followed by Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska and New Hampshire.
The organization cautioned that its rankings are intended to compare the relative attainability of financial security among states and should not be interpreted as a prediction of any individual’s financial outlook.
