A.G. Edwards releases 2007 Nest Egg Index

The index ranks the nation’s top communities and states based on residents’ personal savings and investing behaviors, including participation in retirement savings plans, personal debt levels and homeownership.

The Top 10

The Top 10 cities in the index are:

1. Los Alamos, N.M

2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

3. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

4. Torrington, Conn.

5. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.

6. Barnstable Town, Mass.

7. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn./Wis.

8. Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.

9. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.

10. Edwards, Colo.

According to the survey, those communities benefit from strong local housing markets, and residents show a high propensity toward saving and investing, particularly in retirement vehicles such as 401(k) or pension plans.

“One thing we can learn from the top-saving communities is the importance of consistency when it comes to saving and investing,” said A.G. Edwards Personal Finance Strategist Sophie Beckmann, CPA, in a news release.

“It’s no secret that developing a strategy for building your nest egg and sticking to your plan will give you a greater chance of successfully achieving your goals, but what the communities in this survey have demonstrated is that solid savings coupled with debt reduction leads to success, and the rankings show that,” she added.

Rankings by state

Missouri ranked No. 25 among the 50 states on the 2007 Nest Egg Index. The top 5 states in the index were Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Ohio had the most communities in the top 500 list at 37, followed by Indiana (32), Pennsylvania (30) and Michigan (29). In addition, all 24 Wisconsin communities were ranked in the top 500.

Several Missouri cities were ranked among the top 500 communities for the Nest Egg Index, including Springfield (433), Branson (394) and Joplin (491).

Kansas City was ranked No. 84, St. Louis was No. 95, Jefferson was No. 166 and Columbia was No. 472.

Only Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma did not have communities represented in the top 500 rankings of this year’s Nest Egg Index.

“Americans as a whole may face external factors, such as economic and employment conditions, that can hinder the saving and investing process,” A.G. Edwards’ Beckmann said.

“But the traditional axioms of starting early and developing a disciplined approach to saving are personal choices investors make that help them in the end.”