Most and least educated states

WalletHub - With people who have college degrees earning around $600 to $1,400 more per week than people with just a high school diploma, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on 2026's Most & Least Educated States in America...
 
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.
 

Most Educated States	Least Educated States
1. Massachusetts	41. Texas
2. Vermont	42. New Mexico
3. Maryland	43. Alabama
4. Connecticut	44. Kentucky
5. Colorado	45. Oklahoma
6. New Jersey	46. Nevada
7. Virginia	47. Arkansas
8. New Hampshire	48. Louisiana
9. Minnesota	49. Mississippi
10. Washington	50. West Virginia

 
Key Stats

• New Jersey has the highest school system rating, which is 24.3 times higher than in South Dakota and Maine, the states among the lowest.
   
• Massachusetts has the highest share of bachelor’s degree holders aged 25 and older, which is two times higher than in West Virginia, the state with the lowest.
   
• Maine has the lowest racial gap in educational attainment, with the share of black people aged 25 and older holding a bachelor’s degree at 30.3 percent compared to 22.5 percent for their white counterparts, a difference of 7.8 percent favoring black people.

The full report