Think you're smart? You may have helped Vermont's ranking on the smartest states list

April Barton, Burlington Free Press
·1 min read

Vermonters like to think they are smart, and based on a new ranking, they may be right.

Education and IQ information was compiled by the online gaming platform Penn Stakes to create a ranking of America's Smartest States.

Vermont came in at number five. The Green Mountain state received an index score of 72.19 based on the percentage of the population with advanced degrees, ACT and SAT results and IQ score. Among those criteria, Vermont received it's highest ranking in IQ − at fourth best in the nation.

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Who beat out Vermont? Massachusetts, the home of Harvard University and MIT, took the top spot overall and also had the highest ACT scores and the most advanced degrees at 20.3% of the population. Connecticut, the Constitution State and home to Yale University, took second. Third and fourth were Maryland and Virginia, respectively, which house many of those working in the nation's capital.

West Virginia ended up on the bottom of the list, owing to a lower average IQ score and the least amount of residents with a bachelor's degree. Those just above the bottom included Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Nevada.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont named one of the smartest states