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Washington ranked 13th in a Work + Money report on the most educated states in the U.S. The digital media site reported the 13.1 percent of Americans who hold an advanced degree (as of 2018) earned on average 3.7 times more than those who had not completed high school.
Washington edged out Oregon (#15) and California (#16) but among states in the Western U.S., it was behind Colorado, which was ranked 9th.
In recognizing the Evergreen State, Work + Money noted Washington has more STEM workers than any other state and is tied for first with California, Oregon, and Massachusetts for the number of patents filed each year. The report also found the lack of a state or corporate income tax attracts businesses to Washington.
As home to both Microsoft and Amazon, Washington is among the top five states employing workers in high-tech industries. Also noteworthy was the state’s GDP growth, which was highest in the nation in 2017. A 2019 study by WalletHub determined Washington had the best economy in the nation.
Work + Money reported the number of Americans age 25 and older with a mater’s or doctoral degree has doubled in the past 20 years. States with a higher percentage of residents with an advanced degree tend to be those with large metropolitan areas where large corporate headquarters are located.
Among Washington’s adults age 25 and older, 13.3% hold a master’s or doctoral degree. The District of Columbia ranked first in the “most educated states” rankings by Work + Money with 33.4% of its adults holding an advanced degree. Rounding out the top 10 were:
2. Massachusetts
3. Maryland
4. Connecticut
5. Virginia
6. New York
7. Vermont
8. New Jersey
9. Colorado
10. New Hampshire
Work + Money, with 3 million monthly readers, “helps professionals navigate their career, build family savings, understand real estate and business landscapes, and enjoy their wealth and time. It is part of Granite Media, a digital media and technology services company headquartered in San Francisco.