While getting a good education does not guarantee higher income in the future, analysts have found a correlation between the two. 

However, despite the large number of Golden State residents who rank among the richest people in the world (87 as of October 2023), a new study by WalletHub found that California’s educational opportunities don’t necessarily align with increased future income levels. 

WalletHub analyzed data from “key indicators of a well-educated population” across all 50 states including educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races to determine which parts of America are most and least educated. 

The study found that California falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall education ranking, according to WalletHub, finishing 29^th out of the 50 states despite having the eighth-highest quality of education in the nation. 

California’s education attainment rating, however, is 37^th best in America, WalletHub researchers found. 

Highest on WalletHub’s list for most educated states was Massachusetts, where educational attainment and quality both rank first in the nation.  

On the other end of the spectrum, analysts concluded that West Virginia is the least educated state, with the worst educational attainment rank and the sixth-worst educational quality rank in the U.S. 

WalletHub’s list of most educated states can be viewed in the table below: 

Additional research conducted in the same WalletHub study found that California has the lowest percentage of high school diploma holders in America but ranks in the top five for average university quality.

The full list of metrics used by WalletHub for the study can be found here.