Here in Massachusetts, we've long suspected we're wicked smart. After all, our state is home to prestigious universities, which attract many of the world's best and brightest minds. But thanks to WalletHub's recent rankings on the Most Educated States for 2017, in which Mass. took the top spot, we can have tangible evidence that we're a place of learned people.
According to the personal finance website, the top ten most educated states for this year were:
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Virginia
- Minnesota
- Washington
- New Jersey
The rankings were determined using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, The Chronicle of Higher Education and U.S. News & World Report. All 50 states were evaluated for their educational attainment, as well as their quality of education, based on 11 specific metrics.
For instance, WalletHub analyzed the breakdown of adults aged 25 and older with at least a high school diploma, some college experience, a bachelor's degree and a graduate degree in each state. The quality of each state's public school system, graduation rates and diversity gaps in educational attainment were also factors.
How did we stack up in terms of these specific factors? According to WalletHub, here's where our state fell relative to the rest of our nation for a number of these metrics:
- #19 for percentage of high school diploma holders
- #6 for percentage of associate's degree holders or college-experienced adults
- #1 for percentage of bachelor’s degree holders
- #1 for percentage of graduate or professional degree holders
- #8 for average university quality
