When it comes time to vote Nov. 8, many voters will head to the polls with their own pocketbooks in mind. From taxes to health care, some of the candidates’ most divisive policy initiatives, if implemented, could have a dramatic impact on the purse strings of millions of American households.
But exactly how savvy are Republicans and Democrats when it comes to matters of personal finance? MagnifyMoney decided to put the major U.S. political parties (including Independents) to the test.
We gave over 1,000 potential voters ages 18 and up a six-question quiz to test their knowledge of basic financial principles, from interest rates to inflation. The quiz itself was borrowed from the official financial literacy test created by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2009.
On average, Republicans were more likely to pass the quiz (answering at least 4 out of 6 questions correctly) than Democrats — 60.9% vs. 56.4%. Independents fell right in the middle, with a pass rate of 55.4%.
Not surprisingly, Republicans boasted the highest average score of all with 59.3%. Independent voters weren’t far behind, with an average score of 57.7%. Democrats came in third place, with an average score of 56%.
On the bright side for Democrats, a larger share of respondents from this party were more likely to get every answer correct — 10.3% vs. 9.3% of Republicans. But in the end, Democrats were dragged down by a higher complete fail rate (answering 6 out 6 questions incorrectly). Nearly 13% of Democrats answered every question wrong, compared to 8.7% of Republicans and 7.4% of Independents.
A possible explanation for Republicans’ higher scores could be the demographic makeup of the party itself. Republicans as a whole tend to skew older and male, according to the Pew Research Center. It appears the party benefited from that base in our quiz. We found that both men and older respondents scored higher overall. Democrats, on the other hand, tend to skew younger and more female, according to the same Pew study. Both of these groups earned lower average scores on our quiz.
Check out the full results below and don’t forget to vote!
Methodology: Survey results are based on a MagnifyMoney survey conducted by Google Consumer Surveys on Sept. 28, 2016. There were 1,044 respondents — 351 identified as Democrats, 343 identified as Republicans, and 350 identified as Independents. The survey questions were based on the official FINRA Financial Literacy Quiz.
MagnifyMoney is a price comparison and financial education website, founded by former bankers who use their knowledge of how the system works to help you save money.
