TABLE 3.
Measures of Financial Literacy
| Individual Characteristics | Percent Correctly Answering the “Big 3” Financial Literacy Questions | Percent Correctly Answering the “Big 5” Financial Literacy Questions | Mean Level of Self-Assessed Overall Financial Knowledge (1-7 Scale) | Mean Level of Self-Assessed Mathematical Knowledge (1-7 Scale) | Mean Level of Self-Assessed Capability at Dealing with Financial Matters (1-7 Scale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 49% | 21% | 5.1 | 5.8 | 5.6 |
| Female | 29% | 10% | 4.8 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
| Age | |||||
| 18-24 | 22% | 5% | 4.6 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
| 25-34 | 32% | 11% | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| 35-44 | 38% | 15% | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.3 |
| 45-54 | 43% | 18% | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| 55-64 | 48% | 20% | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| 65 or Older | 49% | 19% | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.0 |
| Education Level | |||||
| Less than H.S. Graduate | 12% | 2% | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| H.S Graduate | 23% | 7% | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Some College | 40% | 14% | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.6 |
| College Graduate or Above | 60% | 29% | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| Household Income | |||||
| Less than $15K | 21% | 5% | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.0 |
| $15K-$24K | 26% | 6% | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| $25K-$34K | 30% | 10% | 4.8 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
| $35K-$49K | 36% | 12% | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.6 |
| $50K-$74K | 45% | 18% | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| $75K-$99K | 55% | 24% | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| $100K-$149K | 60% | 29% | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| More than $150K | 66% | 37% | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
Note: Authors’ calculations from the 2009 NFCS State-by-State Survey (n=28,146). The top panel of Table 1 lists the “Big 3” questions in Column (1); the “Big 5” questions in Column (2) include the “Big 3” and the additional two questions from the bottom panel of Table 1. Columns (3) through (5) report the mean of the participants’ self-assessments based on the following scale: 1=Strongly Disagree to 7= Strongly Agree.