Nearly half of Texas households, 49.8 percent

Nearly half of Texas households, 49.8 percent, lack a cash cushion that can keep them at the poverty level for three months in the event they lost their income, according to the Corporation for Enterprise Development. Also, 12.8 percent are unbanked, meaning that they don’t have either a checking or savings account. Another 27.2 percent are “underbanked,” meaning that they may have a bank account but also use wallet-busting alternative banking methods like payday lenders. As a point of reference, 8.2 percent of households nationally are unbanked and 20.1 are underbanked.Laissez les bon temps rouler? About half of Louisiana households (49.9 percent) are ill prepared for a financial shock that could bring those good times to an end, according to CFED, while 11.5 percent are unbanked and 27.2 percent are underbanked.

Half of Tennessee households are liquid asset poor, while 10.9 percent are unbanked and 18.1 percent are underbanked.A financial shock like the loss of a job or a medical emergency would leave 51.5 percent of North Carolina households without enough resources to cover basic expenses, according to the CFED Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. The report also says 9.3 percent of households in the state are unbanked, and 21.7 percent are underbanked.