Iowa Earns Positive Grade for Financial Literacy, but There is Room for Improvement

Iowa earned a B-plus grade in the 2016 National Report Card on Adult Financial Literacy, released by the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy. New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming also received a B-plus grade, and only four states – Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah – received a higher grade than Iowa, with each receiving an A-minus.

Compared to the rest of the country, Iowa’s score is impressive, but there are several areas in which it could improve. The state scored lowest in areas of student loans (F) and retirement readiness (C). While both of those areas are important, what may be more troubling is a subcategory grade Iowa received in the Financial Knowledge section. The state’s overall grade of B-minus in that section was brought down by a D-minus in the subcategory titled, “Offered and Participated in Financial Education.” Slightly more than 20 percent of survey respondents…