Surprise! San Diegans are good budgeters

Statistics show it: San Diego has a median household income that is moderately higher than the nation's, but the cost of living — particularly housing — is far higher than the national average. Locals call it "the squeeze."

So, you might expect that San Diegans go heavily into debt and struggle with their budgets. It doesn't seem to be true, according to a new study by WalletHub, an organization that computes statistics on states, cities, and metro areas. Its latest study is on budgeting.

The study considered such things as credit scores and debt usage. San Diego comes in 27th out of 150 metro areas. The top cities tend to be in cold Midwestern locations: Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Rochester, Minnesota, and Minneapolis-St. Paul are the top four.

The worst budgeters are in hot locations, mostly in the South: Macon, Georgia; Columbus, Georgia; Gulfport, Mississippi; Las Vegas; Albany, Georgia, and Jackson, Mississippi are the six worst. In fact, of the worst 50 metro areas, almost all are in the South.

The study measures variables such as personal bankruptcy rate, foreclosure rate, credit usage, housing expenses as a percentage of median home price, and percentage of population spending more than they make. San Diego comes in 14th in spending and debt and 38th in saving.