A.G. Edwards recently announced the results of their Nest Egg Index, based on a survey of nearly 1000 communities around the nation, evaluating the tendency of citizens to save and avoid debt. Appleton ranked #16 in the nation, with the highest score of the 24 Wisconsin communities in the survey. Wisconsin overall ranked #8 out of 50. Not bad! Appleton's residents do tend to have a lot of fiscal wisdom, and that contributes to the health and stability of our community, in my opinion. Congratulations, Appleton!

Some information about the 2007 Nest Egg Index from A.G. Edwards' Website:

In the third annual Nest Egg Index, we ranked the 500 top-performing communities and the 50 states based on their residents' personal savings and investing behavior. By measuring a dozen statistical factors - including participation in retirement savings plans, personal debt levels and home ownership - the Nest Egg Index shows the geographic regions where people are succeeding and facing difficulty with their nest eggs.

A PDF file of the top 500 communities is also available.

Here's an excerpt of the story "Wisconsinites Among Best Savers" in the Post-Crescent, Sept. 14, 2007, by Larry Avila:

Appleton knows all about saving money for retirement.

In A.G. Edwards' latest Nest Egg Index, the city ranked 16th among 500 surveyed U.S. communities on their residents' personal savings and investing behavior. Green Bay ranked 55th.

"I think the reason we've scored well is by nature, Wisconsin is just more conservative with its money than some of the larger states and the coasts," said Mike Hamilton, a financial consultant, with A.G. Edwards, 1270 W. Hill Blvd., Grand Chute. "We're just more prudent about fiscal management."

The Nest Egg Index involved a dozen statistical factors ranging from participation in retirement savings plans to personal debt levels and home ownership. A.G. Edwards used consumer data compiled by the marketing information firm Claritas and a cost of living measure from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

In Wisconsin, which ranked eighth, all 24 communities rated made the top 500.

Hamilton said the survey also takes into account cost of living in a community.

"When you look at the overall job cutbacks we've had in the area, we continue to be very solid from an employment standpoint," he said. "When you have stability, people feel more comfortable setting money aside for retirement."