With people who have college degrees earning around $600 to $1,400 more per week than people with just a high school diploma, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on 2026's Most & Least Educated States in America, as well as expert commentary.
In order to determine the most educated states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races.
How educated is New York? (1=Most; 25=Avg.):
- Overall Rank: 16th
- 45th – % of High-School Diploma Holders
- 29th – % of Associate's Degree Holders or College-Experienced Adults
- 9th – % of Bachelor’s Degree Holders
- 6th – % of Graduate- or Professional-Degree Holders
- 5th – Avg. University Quality
- 30th – Racial Gap in Educational Attainment
- 50th – Gender Gap in Educational Attainment
Expert Commentary
What are the most effective ways to combat “brain drain” across state borders in the United States?
“Brain drain in the U.S. is less a one-way loss and more a struggle over where highly educated workers choose to build their lives and careers. Several important factors and considerations stand out for whether employees stay or leave within a particular state or region. First, job opportunities and employment-related information matter at least as much as headline wage levels… Second, the quality of place and local services/amenities are central to retention… Satisfaction with location, security, promotion opportunities, and social contribution reduces the likelihood that highly educated workers move away, suggesting that states can limit brain drain by improving career ladders, place quality, and opportunities for meaningful work rather than relying solely on pay or one-off incentives… Finally, having universities act as regional anchors can counteract brain drain. Evidence on U.S. regions suggests that higher education institutions, especially those producing advanced and STEM degrees, create geographically concentrated spillovers in innovation and entrepreneurship that benefit surrounding labor markets. The more states cultivate research universities as hubs, linking them to incubators, technology parks, and start-up ecosystems, the more they can both retain homegrown talent and attract new employees.”
C. Sean Robinson, PhD, PCC, CAPPC – Professor, Morgan State University
Are highly educated states more resilient to economic shocks?
“A large body of economic development and labor-market research indicates that states and regions with stronger human capital are better able to withstand and recover from economic turmoil or shocks. An analysis of growth patterns using U.S. state data shows that cognitive skills, not just years of schooling, strongly predict long-run economic growth, even after accounting for internal migration and immigration. Simulations suggest that if each state raised school quality to match the best performers, the value of long-run gains would average about 8% of discounted future state GDP. Cross-country estimates using data from 15-year-olds' math, science, and reading literacy, focusing on functional skills for real-world application, similarly confirm that earlier education quality has a robust, long-lagged effect on GDP growth, even when controlling for other macro factors. These findings imply that states with higher skill levels enter recessions with stronger productivity, more innovative firms, and more adaptable workers. At the micro level, occupations that rely highly on cognitive and interpersonal skills (aka, “soft skills”), including jobs within healthcare, education, social services/psychology, law, etc., are less sensitive to cyclical downturns and respond more favorably during recoveries, especially in urban labor markets. This suggests that states whose workforce is concentrated in such occupations experience shallower employment losses and faster rebounds. More educated individuals also tend to have higher and more stable earnings over time, which stabilizes tax bases and local demand. However, economic resilience for counties or states is not automatic. The 2007-2008 recession showed that severe local employment and economic shocks translated into measurable declines in K–12 achievement, especially in districts serving poorer and minority students.”
C. Sean Robinson, PhD, PCC, CAPPC – Professor, Morgan State University
To what extent should U.S. states consider education policy as part of a broader economic development strategy?
“First, education quality is a core growth driver. U.S. and international studies both show that it is skills, especially basic literacy, mathematics, and higher-order cognitive abilities, rather than schooling quantity alone that matter most for sustained growth. Global research exploring the relationship between education and economic growth shows that education and developing human capital now sits at the center of growth theory and empirical work, reinforcing its status as a primary component of economic infrastructure rather than a purely social good. Second, the financial returns based on education policy depend on context and design. Cross-country work finds that education spending yields stronger growth payoffs in economies that are already relatively advanced and able to absorb skilled labor productively, a pattern that maps onto differences among U.S. states with and without strong innovation ecosystems…Third, education alone is insufficient. Reviews of sustainable regional development indicate that educational systems contribute to economic and innovative potential only when combined with measures addressing social exclusion, governance deficits, and institutional capacity. Overly narrow ‘education = growth’ narratives risk promoting test-score-driven reforms that undermine quality, equity, and public trust without delivering inclusive or equitable economic development. Evidence that some U.S. regions see weak links between education spending and growth, or possible failures in secondary education, underscores the fact that policy design and institutional quality matter as much as spending levels.”
C. Sean Robinson, PhD, PCC, CAPPC – Professor, Morgan State University