NJ trends wrong direction in new 2024 education ranking

The latest scores have been released grading all 50 states based on how educated they are. And although New Jersey still receives a better score compared to most, it's not all good news.

First off, New Jersey has a reputation of having some of the best schools in the nation. It's one of the main reasons so many stay in The Garden State with their families.

Simply put, most parents want the best education possible for their children. And who can blame them?

It's one of the things that make paying high taxes worth it. It also goes beyond K-12 as college education also goes a long way in The Garden State.

With that said New Jersey seems to be slipping when it comes to being one of the most-educated states. In fact, a few more states seem to be passing us up in this category.

The good news is, we're still within the top 10, so there's no immediate worry for families. However, it is disappointing that our rank has trended in the wrong direction.

What's more, there are a few particular metrics that helped play a role in bringing our score down. Before we take a closer look at specifics, let's first see how all 50 states stack up, including those that outshined New Jersey.

New Jersey slips to #7

Not a bad overall rank, but New Jersey's has been better in the past. And if you noticed, there was one particular score that helped drop our position to the top.

New Jersey ranked 10th for its educational attainment. According to census.gov, "Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education that an individual has completed."

With that said, New Jersey did rank 3rd place when it comes to how many of its residents have earned a bachelor's degree. The two states that ranked higher than us in this category are Colorado at #2, and Massachusetts at #1.

A Few More Stats

Although New Jersey did do well when it comes to undergrads receiving a bachelor's degree, that's the only category in higher education that the Garden State landed a top 5 spot in. Massachusetts, the most educated state in America, landed the top spot in both bachelor's and graduate-level degrees, as well as second in average university quality (Connecticut took the top spot there).

Those categories were also consistent among the other states that ranked higher than New Jersey, further pushing us away from the top of the list. The good news, however, is that New Jersey continues to rank well when it comes to its overall quality of education.

In 2024, New Jersey ranked #4 in overall education quality, with Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts taking the top 3 spots. More stats on WalletHubs 2024 Most and Least educated states can be found here.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.