New York ranks No. 9 among states with the best budgeters

New York is among the top states with the best budgeters, according to a new WalletHub study.

Maintaining healthy financial habits and sticking with set budgets has become increasingly harder for Americans, according to WalletHub. 83% of Americans who have set budgets say the rise in prices has become the biggest challenge in sticking to them, a recent WalletHub survey found.

"Not having a budget sets you up for financial failure," WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. "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."

To determine the states where Americans have the best budgeting habits, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 12 metrics, ranging from the average credit score to debt-to-income ratios to foreclosure rates.

Here is what to know about New York's rank.

NY among states with best budgeters

New York has the ninth-best budgeters of all 50 states, according to WalletHub.

The Empire State scored the No. 9 spot, with an overall score of 71.05. It placed at the No. 3 spot for the spending & debt rank, No. 31 for the credit rank and No. 26 for the savings rank.

According to WalletHub, the five tips for better budgeting include:

• Create an emergency fund
• Rank your expenses
• Use the island approach- isolating different types of transactions to different credit cards
• Use the "avalanche" method for debt payoff
• Don't neglect any part of your budget

WalletHub's top 10 states with the best budgeters

1. Massachusetts
2. Washington
3. Hawaii
4. Vermont
5. New Hampshire
6. Wisconsin
7. Minnesota
8. Connecticut
9. New York
10. New Jersey

WalletHub's 10 states with the worst budgeters

• No. 50: Mississippi
• No. 49: Louisiana
• No. 48: Arkansas
• No. 47: Alabama
• No. 46: Georgia
• No. 45: Oklahoma
• No. 44: South Carolina
• No. 43: Nevada
• No. 42: West Virginia
• No. 41: New Mexico

How WalletHub assessed states on budgeters

To determine which states have the best and worst budgeters, WalletHub compared all 50 states across three dimensions: spending and debt, credit and savings.

The spending and debt category analyzed these factors:

• Total non-mortgage debt as a percentage of median income
• Bankruptcy rate
• Foreclosure rate
• Housing expenses as a percentage of median home price
• Total non-housing expenses relative to average income
• Credit utilization
• Percentage of the population spending more than they make
• Percentage of the population paying only the minimum on their credit cards

The credit category analyzed these factors:

• Average credit score
• Delinquency rate

The savings category analyzed these factors:

• Rainy day funds
• Percentage of unbanked households

Data used to create the ranking was collected as of Aug. 5, 2026, and was sourced from multiple entities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and TransUnion.

—Madison Scott is a New York Connect reporter, covering entertainment, breaking and consumer news, and trending topics with a focus on stories that matter to readers across New York State. She also has an interest in how the system helps or doesn't helpfamilies with missing loved ones. She can be reached at [e-mail].

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New York ranks No. 9 among states with the best budgeters