Financial literacy and financial education in the United States

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of financial literacy and financial education in the U.S. It begins with a description of the country’s demographic and economic characteristics. It then describes financial literacy in the U.S. In international comparisons, the U.S. ranked 14th among 140 countries in one assessment of financial literacy. In 2018, U.S. 15-year-olds’ financial literacy scores in the Programme for International Student Assessment were about average. Primary conclusions from domestic assessments of financial literacy in the U.S. are that it is lower than ideal and that gender, race, and socioeconomic position matter. The chapter concludes by providing a high level overview of financial education efforts in the U.S. public and private sectors and describing four challenges in U.S. financial education.