Consumers in Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties handle debt better than most other major U.S. metro areas, according to consumer finance website NerdWallet.
The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked ninth out of 136 in the analysis, which weighted credit scores and debt-to-income ratios equally to determine a “smart borrowing score.”
Greater Hartford’s score was 79.5. The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area took the top spot with a score of 91.3. Greater Hartford was similar to that metro area in many respects, but its average VantageScore — which is a competitor to the better-known FICO score — was lower, at 683.
