Financial Securty for North Dakotans

Today the Center for Enterprise Development released state by state scorecards on financial security of residents. NDESPA is the Lead State Organization for the CFED Assets & Opportunities Scorecard and organized a press conference to make the public aware of the of how prevalent poverty is in North Dakota – in spite of the states prosperity – and to highlight some pieces of legislation that would help low and moderate income, working families, to build assets for the future.

 

28% of North Dakota Residents Have Almost No Savings to Cover Emergencies or Save for the Future

State Ranks 3^rd Overall for the Financial Stability of its Residents

Washington, D.C. — While North Dakota’s booming economy and supportive policies lend to a system of financial security for the majority of residents, more than one in four North Dakota residents are living on the edge of financial disaster with almost no savings to fall back on in the event of a job loss, health crisis or other income-depleting emergency, according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). 

The 2013 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard defines these residents as “liquid asset poor,” which means they lack adequate savings to cover basic expenses at the federal poverty level for just three months if they suffer a loss of stable income. Included in this group are a majority of North Dakota residents who live below the official income poverty line of $23,050 for a family of four, as well as many who would consider themselves middle class. Although a family of four would need just $5,762 in savings to meet basic needs for three months, growing numbers of middle class households in our state fall short of that amount.

Without savings, these families have limited hope of building a more prosperous future for themselves or their children, including saving for college, buying a home or setting aside money for retirement.  

“In order to cope with the recession’s continued impact, these families have had to prioritize today’s expenses over tomorrow’s goals,” said Andrea Levere, president of CFED. She called the findings “particularly disturbing given the ongoing budget talks in Congress that will likely result in further reductions in the social safety net and other programs that help low- and moderate-income people get on the their feet and start planning and saving for a better future.”

Published annually, the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard offers the most comprehensive look available at Americans’ ability to save and build wealth, fend off poverty and create a more prosperous future. The Scorecard explores how well residents are faring in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and assesses policies that are helping residents build and protect assets across five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing & Homeownership, Health Care and Education.

North Dakota ranks 3^rd in the country overall in the ability of residents to achieve financial security. The Scorecard evaluates states across 53 measures within the five different issue areas. North Dakota holds the nation’s top rating in Financial Assets & Income, and has the lowest number of consumers with subprime credit (borrowers who are 90 day or more overdue on debt payments) and average credit card debt. Similarly, North Dakota is 1^st in the nation in several measures in Housing & Homeownership, including the affordability of homes, housing cost burden of homeowners and delinquent mortgages loans. However, an area of concern for North Dakota is disparities in outcomes by race, with people of color falling far behind white North Dakotans. Disparities in unemployment and business ownership by race in North Dakota are the worst in the nation, and disparities in health insurance coverage by race are the second worst. North Dakotans of color are six times more likely to be unemployed and three times more likely to be uninsured than white North Dakotans. With a few key policy adjustments, North Dakota could lead the nation in all categories of financial security for residents.