How smart are you in comparison to your neighbors? Now there's scientific evidence; it depends on where you grew up. The personal finance website WalletHub recently enlisted experts to rate all 50 states according to 18 education metrics in two major categories. The educational attainment category measured how many state residents earned high school diplomas and degrees of higher education, while the educational quality category looked at the quality of state schools and universities, student test scores, and achievement gaps between genders and races, among other factors. Each state was assigned a score from 1 to 100, with 100 being the most educated. Here's how all 50 states ranked, from worst to best.
Overall score: 22.40
West Virginia ranked as the least educated state in the country, coming in dead last in educational attainment and 47th in quality of education. Researchers found it has the lowest percentage of associate's degree, bachelor's degree, and graduate-level degree holders in the country, and the worst average university quality. But it doesn't have the lowest percentage of high school diploma holders—read on to find out which state does.
Overall score: 25.64
Mississippi is the second least educated state in the U.S., ranking 49th for educational attainment—with the nation's second-lowest percentage of bachelor's degree holders—and 45th for educational quality.
Overall score: 27.36
Louisiana placed 48th nationwide for educational attainment and 43rd for quality of education. It ranked 49th for the percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults and 47th for its percentage of bachelor's degree holders.
Overall score: 30.87
Arkansas finished in the bottom five states for its percentage of high school degree holders, percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults, and percentage of bachelor's degree holders. Its overall rankings: 47th for educational attainment and 27th for quality of education.
Overall score: 34.46
Alabama ranked 44th for educational attainment and 39th for quality of education.
Overall score: 35.32
The Sooner State placed 43rd for educational attainment and 42nd for quality of education.
Overall score: 35.70
Kentucky is a study in contrasts: Although it ranked 19th nationwide for the quality of education offered, it came in 46th place for educational attainment. It ranked 46th for its percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults and 46th for its percentage of bachelor's degree holders.
Overall score: 35.70
Nevada tied Kentucky for 43rd place overall, ranking 23rd for quality of education but 45th for educational attainment.
Overall score: 36.99
New Mexico ranked 39th for educational attainment and 48th for quality of education.
Overall score: 40.14
The Lone Star state's split performance landed it in the bottom 10 states overall—Texas ranked 17th for education quality but 42nd for educational attainment.
Overall score: 41.16
Tennessee placed 19th for quality of education but 40th for educational attainment, landing it in 40th place among 50 states.
Overall score: 42.09
The Palmetto State ranked 38th for educational attainment and 34th for quality of education.
Overall score: 42.60
Indiana saw one of the biggest split results in the survey: It ranks ninth nationwide for quality of education but 41st for educational attainment.
Overall score: 44.37
Arizona placed 32nd for educational attainment and 44th for quality of education.
Overall score: 46.18
Idaho ranked 34th for educational attainment and 32nd for quality of education. One big blemish for the Gem State: Its university quality ranked 46th out of 50 states.
Overall score: 46.34
South Dakota came in at 35th place nationwide, ranking 30th for educational attainment and 40th for quality of education. Its average university quality ranked 48th, behind only West Virginia and Colorado.
Overall score: 46.39
The Buckeye State ranked 21st for quality of education but only 36th for educational attainment, pulling its overall ranking to the lower half nationwide.
Overall score: 47.31
Missouri's performance was consistently mediocre: It ranked 31st for educational attainment and 33rd for quality of education.
Overall score: 47.87
Georgia placed 22nd for quality of education but 33rd for educational attainment, the survey found.
Overall score: 48.06
The Buckeye State earned middling points for consistency: Iowa ranked 29th for educational attainment and 29th for quality of education.
Overall score: 48.78
Pennsylvania ranked 27th for educational attainment and 26th for quality of education.
Overall score: 48.82
Alaska ranked 19th for educational attainment but dead-last 50th for quality of education.
Overall score: 49.08
California landed in the middle of the pack overall despite ranking eighth-best among states for quality of education. Why? Educational attainment is lacking—the state ranked 37th, claiming the lowest percentage of high school diploma holders in the country.
Overall score: 50.41
Michigan ranked 26th for educational attainment and 28th for quality of education.
Overall score: 51.30
North Carolina placed 13th for quality of education but 28th for educational attainment, pulling it to the middle of the pack.
Overall score: 51.39
The geographic center of the country landed in the middle of the survey, despite a wide split in performance: Kansas ranked 49th for quality of education—just above last-place performer Alaska—but 16th for educational attainment.
Overall score: 51.64
Wyoming residents ranked 23rd for educational attainment and 30th for quality of education.
Overall score: 52.11
North Dakota came in at 22nd for educational attainment and 26th for quality of education. Not helping the state's overall performance: It ranked 48 out of 50 for its percentage of graduate or professional degree holders, just ahead of Arkansas and West Virginia.
Overall score: 52.24
The Cornhusker State placed 20th for educational attainment and 38th for quality of education.
Overall score: 53.26
Florida ranked 3rd for quality of education but 35th for educational attainment.
Overall score: 54.52
Wisconsin ranked 10th for quality of education and 25th for educational attainment. It ranks #4 nationwide for average university quality.
Overall score: 54.99
Montana placed 46th for quality of education but 13th for educational attainment: The survey found the state is #1 in the nation for its percentage of high school graduates.
Overall score: 55.94
Mainers placed 15th nationwide for educational attainment and 31st for quality of education.
Overall score: 55.97
Hawaii came in 14th for educational attainment and 35th for quality of education: The state's average university quality placed 47th out of 50 states.
Overall score: 57.20
Illinois ranked 17th for educational attainment and 18th for quality of education.
Overall score: 57.22
The Beaver State ranked 12th for educational attainment but 41st for quality of education, the researchers found.
Overall score: 57.25
New York ranked 18th for educational attainment and 14th for education quality. The Empire State boasts the fifth-highest percentage of graduate degree holders in the country.
Overall score: 58.05
President Biden's home state placed seventh in quality of education and 21st for educational attainment.
Overall score: 58.61
Rhode Island ranked fifth nationwide for quality of education and 24th for educational attainment.
Overall score: 63.12
Washington placed ninth overall for quality of education and 25th for educational attainment.
Overall score: 63.31
Utah landed in the top 10 nationwide, ranking 11th for educational attainment and 12th for quality of education.
Overall score: 63.98
Minnesota ranked eighth for educational attainment and 24th for quality of education.
Overall score: 67.20
New Hampshire placed seventh for educational attainment and 11th for quality of education.
Overall score: 67.33
Virginia ranked fifth for educational attainment and 16th for quality of education. It has the fourth-highest percentage of graduate or professional degree holders in the U.S.
Overall score: 68.85
New Jersey rated 10th nationwide for educational attainment and sixth for quality of education.
Overall score: 69.30
Despite finishing in the top five nationwide overall—and first in the country in the percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults and second in the U.S. in its percentage of bachelor's degree holders—Colorado ranked dead last in its average university quality, the survey found—below West Virginia.
Overall score: 71.40
Vermont ranked third nationwide for educational attainment—coming in #2 for percentage of high school diploma holders and #5 for percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees—and 15th for quality of education.
Overall score: 72.06
Connecticut placed #6 for educational attainment and #4 for quality of education. It boasts the second-best university quality in the nation, and the third-highest number of residents with graduate or professional degrees, the researchers found.
Overall score: 76.73
Maryland is the second-most educated state in the U.S., ranking #4 for educational attainment and #2 for quality of education nationwide. The state has the second-highest number of graduate or professional degree holders and the third-highest percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees.
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Overall score: 83.03
Massachusetts is the most educated state in the U.S., the survey found, ranking first nationwide in both educational attainment and quality of education. "Massachusetts ranked in the first percentile for percentage of bachelor's degree holders, percentage of graduate or professional degree holders, and gender gap in educational attainment, as well as average university quality," WHDH reported. "The state also ranked in the sixth percentile for percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults."
