April is National Financial Literacy Month, and, as personal finance reporters, we can't help but celebrate it.
It's a time to sharpen our understanding of smart money habits and build greater financial awareness. For many people, personal finance wasn't taught in school, making it something we figure out later in life. But the sooner you start learning how to manage your money well, the stronger — and richer — your financial future can be.
In fact, according to the National Financial Educators Council, a lack of financial knowledge costs the average American adult $948 a year (and billions more across the nation). It makes our jobs here at CNBC Select all the more meaningful.
Here are some more stats on financial literacy across our nation.
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Let's talk money: It's Financial Literacy Month
✏️ 39 ✏️
Of the 50 states, 39 now require students to take a class in personal finance to graduate high school, according to the Council for Economic Education. And 22 states require a course in economics.
🤔 51% 🤔
When asked if they considered themselves knowledgeable about personal finances, 51% of U.S. News survey respondents said they're "very" knowledgeable. However, out of that 51%, almost 60% thought carrying a balance boosts your credit score (it doesn't) and about 44% don't know the difference between a credit score and a credit report.
💰 $100,000 💰
Higher earners (annual HHI of $100,000+) are more likely to blame a lack of financial understanding for their poor money management (31%) than lower earners (23%), according to a Junior Achievement USA | Ipsos survey.
📊 53% 📊
Men outperformed women on the 2025 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, a national financial literacy benchmark, answering about 53% of questions correctly on average compared to 45% for women. More than one in five men (22%) demonstrate very high financial literacy, versus just 11% of women.
😬 92% 😬
Nearly all young adults (92%) say they'd change their college financial choices if given another chance, citing debt as a key factor, according to Earnest. And 16% say they wouldn't have gone to college at all if they'd better understood student loans beforehand.
📚 65% 📚
Spending and budgeting top the list of most in-demand personal finance subjects at 65%, followed by saving (49%) and earning income (41%), per the National Endowment for Financial Education. Managing credit (39%) and investing (35%) round out the top five.
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