Half of America’s 10 most educated states are in the Northeast, though high rates of educational attainment span from coast to coast and to every other region in the country.
As part of the 2024 Best States rankings, U.S. News determined which states are the most educated by considering the share of their population 25 years and older with an associate degree or higher, based on 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The national mark is 44.5%.
Though the following 10 states performed well in educational attainment, many of them didn’t rank highly overall for higher education, in large part because of higher student debt totals and higher costs for tuition and fees relative to other states.
These are the 10 most educated states in the U.S., according to data used in the Best States analysis. You can learn more about how states are assessed in our methodology.
10. Washington
