Vermont has one of the nation’s highest rates of high school and college graduation, according to a new online report by WalletHub, a personal finance website.
WalletHub’s report, titled “2021’s Most and Least Educated States in America,” placed Vermont in seventh place among the top 10 states for high school and undergraduate college graduation. The state also has many residents with graduate-level and professional degrees.
In other areas relating to education, Vermont also stands out: the state achieved first place when it comes to closing the gender gap in the classroom. However, it placed 26th closing the racial gap in education showing it has room for improvement.
New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kentucky were at the bottom for high school and college graduation (being states with the fewest diploma and degree holders).
According to Adam McCann, WalletHub financial writer, students have been continuing their education remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic with varying effects, positive and negative. In the case of states such as Vermont, the report indicates the U.S. Bureau of Labor data shows a correlation between higher education levels, higher income, and lower unemployment rates.
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.
McCann noted that in order to determine where Vermont placed, WalletHub compared all 50 states across two key areas: educational attainment and quality of education.
So, how educated is Vermont?
WalletHub used the following scale: 1=most with 25=average. Vermont ranks as follows:
7th – % of high-school diploma holders
17th – % of Associate’s Degree holders or college-experienced adults
7th – % of Bachelor’s Degree holders
6th – % of graduate- or professional-degree holders
11th – Average university quality
26th – Racial gap in educational attainment
1st – Gender gap in educational attainment.