Education is crucial to getting ahead in a knowledge-based economy, and states regularly tout their schools and colleges when seeking to attract investors. But which states can back up their claims?
To identify the best-educated states, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed index values for educational attainment and school quality compiled by Scholaroo.com in its 2022 Most & Least Educated States report.
The No. 1 spot is held by Massachusetts, with an overall score of 84.4. It has the highest share of college, master program, and doctorate program graduates, and ranks first in both educational attainment and school quality rank. The state is home to such famous institutions as Amherst College, Boston College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University. (This is what it costs to attend America’s best private colleges.)
Next is Connecticut with an overall score of 74.6. It has a tradition of investing in education, including the Connecticut Technical High School System, and is home to Yale University. In third place is Maryland, with an overall score of 71.7. It is home to institutions such as Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland (and the United States Naval Academy).
The list is dominated by states in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions: rounding out the top 10 are New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Rhode Island. (These are the most educated cities in the country.)
The bottom end of the list is dominated by states in the South and West. The worst performer is Oklahoma, with an overall score of only 36. Above it are Nevada and Louisiana, each with a score of 38.7. Arizona is next with a score of 38.8, and Mississippi rounds the bottom five with 39.3.
Click here to see the most and least educated states in 2022
50. Oklahoma
> Overall score: 36.0
> Educational attainment rank: 48
> School quality rank: 47
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49. Nevada
> Overall score: 38.7
> Educational attainment rank: 49
> School quality rank: 42
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48. Louisiana
> Overall score: 38.7
> Educational attainment rank: 47
> School quality rank: 46
47. Arizona
> Overall score: 38.8
> Educational attainment rank: 38
> School quality rank: 48
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46. Mississippi
> Overall score: 39.3
> Educational attainment rank: 50
> School quality rank: 40
45. New Mexico
> Overall score: 39.6
> Educational attainment rank: 34
> School quality rank: 49
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44. Idaho
> Overall score: 41.0
> Educational attainment rank: 44
> School quality rank: 43
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43. West Virginia
> Overall score: 41.8
> Educational attainment rank: 41
> School quality rank: 44
42. Alaska
> Overall score: 42.9
> Educational attainment rank: 22
> School quality rank: 50
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41. Alabama
> Overall score: 43.6
> Educational attainment rank: 45
> School quality rank: 39
40. Arkansas
> Overall score: 44.1
> Educational attainment rank: 46
> School quality rank: 36
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39. South Carolina
> Overall score: 44.4
> Educational attainment rank: 32
> School quality rank: 45
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38. Texas
> Overall score: 45.8
> Educational attainment rank: 39
> School quality rank: 37
37. Wyoming
> Overall score: 46.6
> Educational attainment rank: 42
> School quality rank: 30
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36. Florida
> Overall score: 47.5
> Educational attainment rank: 36
> School quality rank: 32
35. South Dakota
> Overall score: 48.1
> Educational attainment rank: 43
> School quality rank: 26
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34. Georgia
> Overall score: 48.9
> Educational attainment rank: 27
> School quality rank: 38
33. North Dakota
> Overall score: 49.5
> Educational attainment rank: 40
> School quality rank: 22
32. Tennessee
> Overall score: 49.6
> Educational attainment rank: 33
> School quality rank: 28
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31. North Carolina
> Overall score: 49.7
> Educational attainment rank: 30
> School quality rank: 35
30. Indiana
> Overall score: 50.0
> Educational attainment rank: 37
> School quality rank: 25
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29. Ohio
> Overall score: 50.6
> Educational attainment rank: 26
> School quality rank: 33
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28. Montana
> Overall score: 50.7
> Educational attainment rank: 25
> School quality rank: 34
27. Kentucky
> Overall score: 51.0
> Educational attainment rank: 35
> School quality rank: 20
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26. Hawaii
> Overall score: 52.2
> Educational attainment rank: 14
> School quality rank: 41
25. Michigan
> Overall score: 52.7
> Educational attainment rank: 19
> School quality rank: 29
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24. Kansas
> Overall score: 54.5
> Educational attainment rank: 21
> School quality rank: 21
23. Utah
> Overall score: 54.6
> Educational attainment rank: 28
> School quality rank: 19
22. Missouri
> Overall score: 55.9
> Educational attainment rank: 20
> School quality rank: 18
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21. Oregon
> Overall score: 56.0
> Educational attainment rank: 16
> School quality rank: 31
20. Nebraska
> Overall score: 56.0
> Educational attainment rank: 23
> School quality rank: 16
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19. Iowa
> Overall score: 56.1
> Educational attainment rank: 31
> School quality rank: 9
18. Wisconsin
> Overall score: 56.6
> Educational attainment rank: 29
> School quality rank: 11
17. Maine
> Overall score: 56.7
> Educational attainment rank: 24
> School quality rank: 13
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16. Delaware
> Overall score: 57.6
> Educational attainment rank: 18
> School quality rank: 17
15. California
> Overall score: 59.6
> Educational attainment rank: 10
> School quality rank: 24
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14. Colorado
> Overall score: 59.7
> Educational attainment rank: 8
> School quality rank: 27
13. Pennsylvania
> Overall score: 59.9
> Educational attainment rank: 17
> School quality rank: 14
12. Washington
> Overall score: 60.0
> Educational attainment rank: 9
> School quality rank: 23
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11. Illinois
> Overall score: 61.1
> Educational attainment rank: 13
> School quality rank: 15
10. Rhode Island
> Overall score: 62.5
> Educational attainment rank: 12
> School quality rank: 12
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9. Minnesota
> Overall score: 63.7
> Educational attainment rank: 15
> School quality rank: 5
8. New Hampshire
> Overall score: 64.2
> Educational attainment rank: 11
> School quality rank: 8
7. New York
> Overall score: 68.8
> Educational attainment rank: 5
> School quality rank: 6
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6. Vermont
> Overall score: 68.8
> Educational attainment rank: 4
> School quality rank: 7
5. Virginia
> Overall score: 69.6
> Educational attainment rank: 6
> School quality rank: 4
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4. New Jersey
> Overall score: 70.8
> Educational attainment rank: 7
> School quality rank: 3
3. Maryland
> Overall score: 71.7
> Educational attainment rank: 2
> School quality rank: 10
2. Connecticut
> Overall score: 74.6
> Educational attainment rank: 3
> School quality rank: 2
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1. Massachusetts
> Overall score: 84.4
> Educational attainment rank: 1
> School quality rank: 1
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