We’re No. 1 (OPINION)

 

Rare are the occasions when Arkansas is ranked No. 1 in any sort of national listing.

There have been so many transplants to Northwest Arkansas (pop. 500,000) in recent years, some may not be aware of a saying we native Arkansans have: “Thank God for Mississippi.”

It’s really more of an unofficial state slogan.

The thought behind the old adage being that as far behind the rest of the country we may lag — 48th or 49th in categories like fattest, dumbest, poorest, etc. — we can historically rest assured that things on the wrong (east) side of the Mississippi River are always marginally worse.

Which is why our chests swelled a little after reading a report published earlier this month that found Arkansas is the most affordable state in the country for banking.

The rankings were published in late May by personal finance website GOBankingRates.com. It evaluated several factors including interest rates on more than 6,200 bank accounts, average checking and savings fees, and the number of bank options available.

The data was used to identify the 10 best and worst states for affordable banking.

With the exception of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the 10 most affordable states were centralized in the South and Midwest.

Reading from No. 1 to No. 10: Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Louisiana, Kansas, Rhode Island and Tennessee.

The least affordable states, starting from the bottom: Arizona, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Nevada, South Dakota, California, Indiana, South Carolina, Delaware and Wisconsin.

Mississippi, incidentally, was ranked No. 11.

Of course, take this study for what it’s worth. It’s not definitive, and there won’t be anyone in Delaware who moves here solely because of these findings that say Arkansas has the most inexpensive banking services in the country. 

But it’s always enjoyable to notice any list that says Arkansas is the best in the country at something.