New England home to 3 of the ‘smartest states’ in America, new study says

DEDHAM, Mass. — New England is home to three of the top 10 “smartest states” in America, according to a new study.

Online education platform Guru 99 says it ranked the top 10 smartest states in the country after analyzing six metrics including average IQ, graduation rates, percentage of the population with low literacy rates, average SAT scores, and percentage of the states that don’t have a high school diploma or GED, and GDP per capita.

The findings of this study revealed New Hampshire as the smartest state, scoring an index rating of 56.82 out of 60.

Data showed that on average, New Hampshire has the highest IQs across the country with 103.2. The state also has the smallest percentage of the population with low literacy skills at 11.5%, and one of the highest GDP per capita with $74,663.

Vermont checked in as the fourth smartest state, scoring an index rating of 54.91.

It was revealed that the Green Mountain State has the lowest percentage of its population that doesn’t have a high school diploma or GED at 5.5%, which contributes to its average IQ of 102.2. Additionally, only 12.8% of the population is deemed to have low literacy.

It’s also worth noting that Maine ranked just outside of the top five, checking in as the seventh smartest state with an index rating of 53.83.

Maine has the joint lowest percentage of the population with no high school diploma or GED at 5.5% and only 13.4% of the population has low literacy.

The top 10 smartest states ranked as follows:

1. New Hampshire

2. Minnesota

3. Wyoming

4. Vermont

5. Montana

6. North Dakota

7. Maine

8. South Dakota

9. Wisconsin

10. Utah

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