Strengthening youth financial capability: How starting early can support long-term financial health

June 24, 2026

Executive summary

Financial capability is an essential building block of long-term financial health, helping people manage day-to-day needs, navigate key life decisions, withstand financial shocks, and pursue opportunities such as homeownership, entrepreneurship, education, and retirement. Yet too many young people enter adulthood without consistent preparation to make informed financial decisions in an increasingly complex financial system. Strengthening youth financial capability—starting early and continuing through key transition points—can help expand economic opportunity and support stronger households and communities.

JPMorganChase is committed to ensuring the next generation has the tools and knowledge to make sound financial decisions to achieve their dreams. We have deployed initiatives supporting youth financial education and development, including community financial health workshops, digital financial education, starter bank accounts that grow with families along their financial journey, and partnerships to support the integration of financial coaching into community colleges and youth workforce systems. Financial institutions play an important role in providing youth a strong foundation to start their financial journeys, however, financial education is a broader societal responsibility.

Schools are the most effective way to deliver foundational financial education at scale. This brief outlines three policy principles to help states expand access to high-quality K–12 financial education:

• Integrate financial education throughout the K–12 curriculum.
• Require a dedicated, full-semester personal finance course for high school graduation.
• Prioritize strong implementation through teacher training, vetted curriculum, public-private partnerships, and ongoing feedback and evaluation.
• Strengthen federal coordination to support state delivery.

There is broad, meaningful momentum to build on. In recent years, more states have adopted personal finance graduation requirements, and early adopter states have generated practical implementation lessons that can help other policymakers move from policy adoption to effective delivery. Continued progress will require states to pair requirements with the resources, partnerships, and evaluation needed to ensure students receive high-quality instruction.

JPMorganChase looks forward to working with policymakers, educators, community organizations, and other partners to help advance evidence-based approaches that strengthen youth financial capability and create pathways to long-term economic opportunity.

Introduction

Why it matters

Financial health is the cornerstone of strong communities—enabling people to purchase homes, start businesses, contribute to thriving local economies, and achieve their dreams. At JPMorganChase, we are proud to play our part supporting people on their financial journey—particularly for low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals and communities who often face compounded challenges to building wealth.¹

While there has been meaningful progress in expanding access to financial products, services, and supports, many people continue to struggle to achieve financial stability and well-being.² There are many factors that contribute to financial health, but developing financial capability—financial knowledge, skill, and behaviors, and access to affordable financial products and services—early in life is critical in strengthening long-term financial health and expanding economic opportunity.³

The need is urgent. The U.S. faces a persistent financial literacy gap,⁴ contributing to economic fragility, debt constraints, and low savings rates.⁵ Young people who develop the fundamentals of financial capability are more likely to become financially secure adults.⁶ Yet, too many young people enter adulthood without consistent preparation to navigate an increasingly complex financial system.⁷

Schools are the most effective way to deliver foundational financial education at scale

As financial decisions begin earlier and products continue to evolve, young people need trusted, practical instruction that helps them build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage money effectively.⁸ Research shows that early financial education works, and that school-based programs improve financial knowledge and behaviors.⁹

• High school personal finance courses are shown to increase young people’s financial knowledge and confidence and lead to positive behaviors and outcomes such as:
  • Higher credit scores and reduced rates of credit delinquencies,¹⁰
  • Lower-cost college financing decisions and improved repayment rates,¹¹
  • And for less affluent students, a lower likelihood of working while in school.¹²
• A single semester, high school course can deliver ~$100,000 in lifetime benefit per student.¹³
• Public support is strong: ~83% of adults support requiring personal finance for high school graduation and 82% wish they were required to complete a high school personal finance course.¹⁴

Broad-based public and bipartisan support has accelerated policy momentum at the state level in recent years. Over the past five years, the number of states requiring a full semester personal finance course for high school graduation has increased from eight to 30.¹⁵ This momentum has also generated a growing base of knowledge, resources, and implementation lessons that can help states strengthen K–12 financial education without starting from scratch.

Policy principles

Recognizing the opportunity to expand financial education and access, and as part of the firm’s push to expand advocacy for smart policies that widen opportunity through the American Dream Initiative, JPMorganChase has identified the following policy principles to help inform and advance state financial education efforts:

1. Integrate Financial Education Throughout K-12 Curriculum
   Incorporating financial education throughout K–12 allows young people to benefit from age-appropriate and cumulative curricula during key developmental phases. Research shows that early exposure (K–8) builds executive function, foundational financial habits, and decision-making skills,¹⁶ while high school provides a critical opportunity to equip students with the knowledge and skills to prepare them for real-world financial decisions.¹⁷
   
   Many states have adopted national standards as their own state standards to guide what students should learn in personal finance across K-12. The Council for Economic Education/Jump$tart National Standards for Personal Finance Education identify knowledge, skills, and decision-making abilities that young people should acquire and provides a framework that progresses through elementary, middle, and high school.
2. Require a Full Semester of Personal Finance Education for High School Graduation
   Current research suggests that the positive outcomes from school-based financial education, such as increased credit scores and higher levels of financial well-being, are highest in states that require a dedicated, full semester personal finance course for graduation, and are less evident in states that make the course optional or allow content to be embedded in other courses.¹⁸ State policies that make personal finance instruction optional typically fail to reach all students¹⁹ or achieve strong outcomes.²⁰
   
   Research finds that when states fail to require personal finance instruction, it is more likely to be offered in schools with more resources, and that when it is not a graduation requirement, females and students of color do not opt in for the course.²¹ Yet research also shows that the greatest benefits of financial education are among lower income populations, indicating that adding personal finance in high poverty schools has potential for a high return on investment.²²
   
   States that allow personal finance content to be embedded in other courses can face challenges in ensuring that all students are receiving adequate and similar levels of instruction.²³ States looking to combine personal finance education with other content may wish to examine research pointing to the importance of instructional time and educator experience,²⁴ and explore more structured approaches that ensure comprehensive coverage of personal finance content.²⁵
3. Prioritize Implementation: Teacher Training, Vetted Curriculum, Partnerships, and Evaluation
   States that were early adopters of graduation requirements have generated and enabled the sharing of insights and best practices on K-12 financial education implementation, giving other policymakers a strong starting point for designing effective programs in their state.²⁶ Reports synthesizing conversations with states at various stages of implementation of graduation requirements can be a resource for states with newly passed requirements.²⁷ Common insight themes include:
   • Teacher training and professional development are essential for ensuring teachers have the expertise and confidence to deliver instruction effectively. Research has found that teachers often lack the confidence to teach personal finance – until they receive appropriate training and professional development.²⁸ States have adopted varying approaches for providing resources for teacher training while also utilizing the wide availability of free and high-quality training resources from entities such as the regional federal reserve banks,²⁹ Council for Economic Education,³⁰ and NextGen Personal Finance.³¹
   • Curating vetted, standards-aligned curriculum can help teachers build effective course plans more quickly and adapt instruction for different student needs. While there is an abundance of free, high-quality curriculum and materials available – lower-quality content is also widespread, particularly online. State-level guidance can help educators distinguish trusted, unbiased resources from lower-quality materials and reduce the burden on individual teachers to evaluate curriculum on their own. Additionally, while a standardized and comprehensive semester-long course may be optimal for some teachers, others may need to adapt materials to their specific student population, such as students receiving free and reduced meals, students with disabilities, and English language learners.³²
   • Public-private partnerships can strengthen effective delivery through cross-sector collaboration, resources, and subject matter expertise. A number of states, including Utah,³³ North Carolina,³⁴ and Washington,³⁵ have created public-private partnerships (PPPs) to support financial education efforts across the state. Such partnerships are typically comprised of policymakers, teachers, workforce development programs, government agencies, postsecondary education institutions, educational nonprofits, and financial and business sectors. Partnerships can strengthen financial education delivery by identifying and coordinating strategies; providing financial education materials, professional development, and information; and connecting stakeholders who share a commitment to financial education.
   • Ongoing feedback and evaluation can help states assess whether financial education requirements are working as intended and identify opportunities to strengthen implementation. As the evidence base on financial education outcomes continues to grow, states can use data and practitioner feedback to understand what is working, where additional support may be needed, and how policies can be refined over time. Feedback channels with educators are especially important after a requirement is implemented because teachers can surface practical challenges, resource gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
4. Strengthen Federal Coordination to Help Support State Delivery
   Federal policymakers, including the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, can support state financial education delivery by continuing to advance a national strategy to increase the financial capability of all Americans, including youth, and by driving coordination, research and resource sharing.³⁶ Federal policymakers should continue to leverage federal programs to deliver just-in-time financial education related to higher education financing, homeownership, wealth-building, entrepreneurship, and retirement.

Progress and the path forward

There has been a tremendous amount of progress across the country in implementing financial education in K-12 schools, with the understanding that schools are the most effective place to provide students with foundational skills and knowledge at scale. There also continues to be an opportunity and value in surfacing and sharing insights and best practices around K-12 financial education implementation. JPMorganChase looks forward to supporting these efforts to expand access to high-quality financial education for students nationwide. Looking ahead, the firm remains committed to helping advance thoughtful, evidence-based approaches to strengthening youth financial capability.

K-12 financial education presents a unique opportunity to reach nearly all young people before they enter adulthood, but financial education should not stop at 12^th grade. Ongoing availability of financial education and coaching throughout people’s lives is critical to helping them make informed decisions at key moments and plan for their financial futures, such as starting to save for retirement, buying a home, starting a small business, and protecting against fraud and scams. Colleges, universities, employers, community organizations and financial institutions all have an opportunity to support people along their financial journeys.

JPMorganChase’s commitment to financial health

JPMorganChase is committed to helping customers and communities build financial health by expanding access to tools, knowledge, products, services, and community-based supports that help people make sound financial decisions throughout life.

• Investing in financial health: Since 2022, JPMorganChase has provided more than $100 million through grants and impact finance capital to support a healthy and accessible financial future for all, reaching approximately 8.4 million individuals, particularly people living on low and moderate incomes.
• Expanded branch presence tailored to customer needs: JPMC is expanding access to affordable, convenient financial services by opening more than 500 branches, renovating 1,700 locations, and hiring 3,500 employees nationwide, including in low-to-moderate income and rural communities. Each branch is staffed by experts who help customers manage everyday finances and work toward their financial goals.
• Expanding access to products and services: The firm offers products and tools that support people at different life stages, including Chase Secure Banking, Chase First Banking, Chase Freedom Rise, Credit Journey, youth and starter digital experiences, and age-based banking supports for young adults.
• Delivering education and community support: JPMorganChase supports financial health workshops, community-based guidance, nonprofit collaborations, youth-focused initiatives, and resources such as Chase Money Skills. Community Managers work with local organizations and families to provide financial health education, personalized support, and connections to resources in the communities they serve.
• Supporting youth and postsecondary learners: The firm is advancing programs such as Back to School with Chase, Chase’s partnership with Hudl to deliver financial education to student athletes and families, and the Money Smart Financial Coaching Program at postsecondary institutions.
• Advancing policy and partnerships: Through the American Dream Initiative, participation in the FinEd50 Coalition, and engagement with policymakers and partners, JPMorganChase is supporting efforts to expand access to high-quality financial education nationwide.