Is Maine Less Educated Than Rest of New England?

A recent education study is suggesting Maine is lagging behind its New England counterparts. Not great, Bob.

Wallethub.com, a personal finance website, recently published its annual report of the most and least educated states in the United States.

Maine came in with an overall ranking of #19 most educated. While that doesn't sound too bad, it's sputtering well behind most of its New England neighbors. Plus, is 19th really that good? Maybe I'm a perfectionist, but Maine should strive for the top 10 or bust.

Speaking of those other New England states, here's how they did. Massachusetts led the entire country, while Vermont was 2nd, Connecticut 4th, New Hampshire 8th, and Rhode Island 16th. This is just a complete embarrassment for us Mainers.

Maine's actual score was 56.51. That scoring is on a 100-point system and based on two major categories: educational attainment and quality of education. These categories were broken down into 18 subcategories to make it as detailed as possible. You can read more about the methodology here.

Maine's highest ranking was in the educational attainment category with a 14th ranking. However, the Pine Tree State got smoked in quality of education. The state only managed a 37th ranking, six spots worse than the 2023 ranking. This absolutely killed Maine, especially when compared to its New England brethren. The next lowest New England state in that category was New Hampshire, with a ranking of 15.

This is an extremely humbling report. It's one thing to be slightly struggling. But to be miles behind the majority of your closest competitors is just downright demoralizing. Also, finishing 37th in quality of education is inexcusable. Maine simply needs to do better.

Hopefully this and other similar reports will be a wake-up call to this state's educators and administrations. Maine's children need to be challenged to be the best they can be. A life filled with competition is in their future. They need to be as prepared as possible.