529 Plan Details:
Enter your state:
World's Simplest College Calculator:
How old is your child?
Find a 529 Pro:
Enter your zip code:
Enroll In a 529 Plan:
2008 Plan Performance Rankings Q4
Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance.
The Top Performing 529 Plans
In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here.
We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here).
These rankings are for periods ended December 31, 2008.
1-year Performance Ranking
Updated February 23, 2009
| Rank | State | Plan | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | Florida College Investment Plan | 18.08 |
| 2 | South Carolina | Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) | 23.20 |
| 3 | Utah | Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust | 23.33 |
| 4 | Missouri | MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) | 26.09 |
| 5 | Georgia | Path2College 529 Plan | 26.31 |
| 6 | Kansas | Schwab 529 College Savings Plan | 26.39 |
| 7 | New York | New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan | 26.48 |
| 8 | Iowa | College Savings Iowa | 27.84 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan | 28.36 |
| 10 | Connecticut | Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) | 28.55 |
See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings.
3-year Performance Ranking
Updated February 23, 2009
| Rank | State | Plan | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | Florida College Investment Plan | 18.03 |
| 2 | Louisiana | START Saving Program | 20.61 |
| 3 | Iowa | College Savings Iowa | 23.07 |
| 4 | South Carolina | Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) | 23.13 |
| 5 | Nebraska | College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) | 23.35 |
| 6 | Kansas | Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) | 23.44 |
| 7 | Kansas | Schwab 529 College Savings Plan | 23.98 |
| 8 | Nevada | The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan | 25.08 |
| 9 | Utah | Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust | 25.17 |
| 10 | Arkansas | GIFT College Investing Plan | 25.78 |
See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings.
5-year Performance Ranking
Updated February 23, 2009
| Rank | State | Plan | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | START Saving Program | 21.16 |
| 2 | Nebraska | College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) | 23.62 |
| 3 | Nevada | The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan | 25.57 |
| 4 | Iowa | College Savings Iowa | 25.72 |
| 5 | Utah | Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust | 26.03 |
| 6 | South Carolina | Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) | 30.41 |
| 7 | Nevada | The Upromise College Fund | 31.63 |
| 8 | Nebraska | TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan | 31.72 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | EdVest (Direct-sold) | 35.19 |
| 10 | Virginia | Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) | 36.03 |
See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings.
For Broker Sold plan rankings, click here.
College Calculator
The simplest way to estimate college costs.

Login to My Account