Here Are the Most, Least Educated States in America

Massachusetts tops WalletHub's list, West Virginia brings up the rear
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2024 5:00 PM CST
This Is the Brainiest State in America
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/Damir Khabirov)

If your mantra is "surround yourself with people smarter than you are," some US states may be a better bet than others, per WalletHub, which looked at the data to see which states offer more in the way of education. The site examined 18 metrics in two main categories: educational attainment, which looks at the share of adults 25 and older who have a high school diploma and various levels of college education; and quality of education—think blue-ribbon schools per capita, graduation rates for public high schools, and racial and gender gaps in educational attainment, among other factors. Here, the top and bottom 10:

Most educated

  1. Massachusetts (No. 1 in both "Educational Attainment," "Quality of Education" categories)
  2. Vermont
  3. Maryland
  4. Connecticut
  5. Colorado
  6. Virginia
  7. New Jersey
  8. New Hampshire
  9. Minnesota
  10. Washington

Least educated
  1. Texas
  2. New Mexico (last in "Quality of Education" category)
  3. Kentucky
  4. Nevada
  5. Alabama
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Arkansas
  8. Louisiana
  9. Mississippi
  10. West Virginia (last in "Educational Attainment" category)

See how other states rank here. (This is the smartest city in America.)

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