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Higher Education Rankings

Measuring which states are the most educated

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A graduating student's cap declares their future intentions during commencement exercises at City College, where First lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement speech after being presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters at City College, on June 3, 2016, in New York City.

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Half of the weighting in the education rankings goes to higher education. The metrics involved include the shares of citizens in each state holding college degrees, with wide variances found among the states and regionally. In Massachusetts, ranked No. 1 among Best States overall, almost half the citizenry holds associate’s degrees or higher. New England in general runs about 10 percentage points higher than Southwestern and Southeastern states by this measure. The rankings take into account the time it takes students to complete both two- and four-year college programs, the cost of tuition and fees state-by-state and the burden of debt that college graduates carry. Alaska has the highest percentage of students completing two-year college degrees within three years – 75 percent. New Hampshire had the highest average college costs in 2015: about $14,500 a year. Wyoming had the lowest costs: About $4,000 per year.

Utah leaves the smallest debt burden on its college graduates, averaging less than $19,000 per student: Delaware leaves the biggest debt burden, more than $34,000 on average.

Best States for Higher Education

Higher Education Rank State 2-Year College Grad. Rate 4-Year College Grad. Rate Educational Attainment Low Debt at Graduation Tuition and Fees
#1 Florida FL 3 32 28 11 2
#2 Utah UT 6 43 15 1 4
#3 California CA 9 6 20 4 33
#4 Wyoming WY 7 26 32 8 1
#5 Washington WA 11 15 10 10 24
#6 North Dakota ND 4 31 12 - 14
#7 South Dakota SD 2 35 26 19 20
#8 Colorado CO 21 23 2 12 29
#9 Nebraska NE 10 21 18 24 15
#10 Virginia VA 25 2 8 25 42
#11 Alaska AK 1 50 30 27 7
#12 North Carolina NC 40 9 25 13 10
#13 Maryland MD 42 9 7 30 26
#14 Kansas KS 8 28 19 16 19
#15 New York NY 26 27 11 31 17
#16 Iowa IA 16 3 27 42 21
#17 New Mexico NM 40 47 40 2 5
#18 Nevada NV 13 49 45 3 3
#19 Oregon OR 32 19 17 21 32
#20 Massachusetts MA 22 14 1 39 41
#21 Wisconsin WI 12 18 24 33 25
#22 Arizona AZ 38 17 35 5 37
#23 Montana MT 17 42 22 29 8
#24 Hawaii HI 34 40 13 9 30
#25 Minnesota MN 15 16 3 45 38
#26 Oklahoma OK 14 44 44 7 6
#27 Connecticut CT 46 8 3 43 39
#28 New Jersey NJ 32 4 9 32 46
#29 Missouri MO 27 22 36 17 23
#30 Tennessee TN 5 36 42 15 27
#31 Mississippi MS 19 29 47 22 13
#32 Georgia GA 29 46 31 26 11
#33 Texas TX 45 33 39 23 22
#34 Vermont VT 31 7 5 35 49
#35 Illinois IL 18 12 15 34 47
#36 Louisiana LA 30 39 48 6 18
#37 Idaho ID 36 48 36 20 12
#38 Maine ME 22 37 21 44 34
#39 New Hampshire NH 24 5 6 48 50
#40 Delaware DE 43 1 23 49 44
#41 Kentucky KY 20 38 46 18 35
#42 Arkansas AR 23 45 49 14 16
#43 Ohio OH 28 30 38 38 36
#44 South Carolina SC 48 13 34 36 43
#45 Michigan MI 47 19 33 41 45
#46 Rhode Island RI 49 23 14 46 40
#47 Indiana IN 50 25 41 37 28
#48 West Virginia WV 43 41 50 28 9
#49 Alabama AL 39 34 43 40 31
#50 Pennsylvania PA 37 11 28 47 48

2-Year College Grad. Rate

This measure also allows for completion of a two-year degree within three years, or 150 percent of the normal time. And the data show that it generally takes students longer than that (if they finish at all), even in the states that rank among the top 10 for education. Roughly one-quarter of the students in the top-ranked states finish two-year programs within three years and the national average is only about 31 percent. Interestingly, it’s Alaska that leads in this measure – with 75 percent of students completing two-year programs in the same time.

4-Year College Grad. Rate

This measure allows for completion of a four-year college degree within six years, or 150 percent of the normal time of study. Although the national average is about 54 percent, among the top-10 states in education, generally about two-thirds of the college students meet this deadline – about 68 percent in No. 2- and No. 3-ranked New Jersey and New Hampshire. At the same time, the leader in this metric, Delaware, with 73 percent timely completion of college degrees, is ranked 26th for education in Best States. Regionally, the Far West, New England and Mid-Atlantic states rank highest. The data on timely completion comes from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Educational Attainment

The achievement of college degrees in any state is a measure of how well the educational system has prepared its citizenry for advanced study beyond high school and enabled students to succeed. The Census Bureau finds that the top-10 states in education in the Best States rankings have this in common: At least 38 percent of people 25 and older – and 49 percent in top-ranked Massachusetts – hold associate’s degrees or higher. New England states generally lead in this measure, with 46 percent holding associate’s degrees or higher and Southwestern and Southeastern states trail, 35 and 36 percent respectively. The share of graduate degrees ranges from 18 percent in Massachusetts to 8 percent in North Dakota (also one of the top-10 Best States overall).

Low Debt at Graduation

The debt that college graduates carry with them is a measure of how much financial support, both public and private, is available for students pursuing higher education. In this case, the lesser the debt that graduates of four-year colleges carry, the higher the state ranks. Utah, one of the top-ranked states overall, stands out as the leader in lowest debt for college graduates: averaging a little under $19,000 in 2015, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. Delaware ranked lowest in this metric, with an average college graduate debt of about $33,800 the same year. Graduate debt tends to run highest in New England, lowest in the Far West and Mountain states.

Tuition and Fees

This is a measure of the average college tuition and fees required of in-state students at public four-year institutions. The lower the cost of a state-sponsored college education, the higher the state ranks. The top-10 states in education have this in common: Higher tuition and fees, indeed among the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education Statistics. No. 3-ranked in education, New Hampshire, had the highest average costs in 2015: $14,538. At the same time, the 12th-ranked state in education, Wyoming, had the lowest costs: $3,968. Regionally, tuition and fees tend to run highest in New England, lowest in the Southeast.

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Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. The data was provided by McKinsey & Company’s Leading States Index.

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