Massachusetts ranks as ‘most educated state’ in America, study says

BOSTON — Massachusetts ranks as the “most educated state” in America, according to a new study released Monday.

The study by the personal-finance website WalletHub ranked the most and least educated states in the nation in 2024.

In order to determine the most educated states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races.

”Massachusetts ranks as the most educated state in America, in large part because it has the highest percentage of adults ages 25 and older with at least a Bachelor’s degree, at nearly 46%, and the highest share who have a graduate or professional degree, at nearly 21%,” Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.

“The Bay State ranks second in the country when it comes to the average quality of its universities, and its children have the best performance in the country in math and reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” Happe said.

Vermont came in second place among the most educated states, followed by Maryland in third place, Connecticut in fourth and Colorado came in fifth.

Mississippi and West Virginia, coming in at No. 49 and No. 50 respectively, ranked at the bottom of the list of most educated states, the study found.

Massachusetts came in 26th in the nation for the percentage of residents with high-school diplomas.

Experts say people who have college degrees typically earn around $600 to $1,200 more per week than people with just a high school diploma.

“Getting a good education doesn’t guarantee high future earnings and better opportunities, but there’s a definite correlation. It’s certainly worth living in one of the most educated states, which offer high-quality learning from childhood all the way through the university level. That’s especially true if you plan to raise children,” Happe said.

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