Q2 2023 529 plan rankings: One-year performance

Savingforcollege.comBy: Savingforcollege.com | 

Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables.

To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The "performance score" determines the ranking.

This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you.

Here are our 529 performance rankings as of June 30, 2023 for Direct-sold 529 plans.

One-year performance ranking (click here for three-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table):

RankStatePlanPerformance Score
1New JerseyNJBEST 529 College Savings Plan15.28
2Utahmy52925.58
3KansasSchwab 529 College Savings Plan26.33
4NevadaUSAA 529 Education Savings Plan27.88
5West VirginiaSMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan29.84
6NebraskaBloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan31.19
7FloridaFlorida Prepaid32.78
8South CarolinaFuture Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold)32.80
9AlaskaT. Rowe Price College Savings Plan35.91
9AlaskaAlaska 52935.91
11WisconsinEdvest 52936.92
12KansasLearning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)37.61
13WashingtonDreamAhead College Investment Plan40.32
14GeorgiaPath2College 529 Plan41.33
15OhioOhio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage42.17
16MarylandMaryland 529 -- Maryland Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer College Investment Plan42.32
17OklahomaOklahoma 52942.75
18MaineNextGen 529 -- Client Direct Series42.86
19KentuckyKY Saves 52943.53
20District of ColumbiaDC College Savings Plan43.72
21IllinoisBright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program44.28
22TexasTexas College Savings Plan44.99
23TennesseeTNStars College Savings 529 Program45.07
24CaliforniaScholarShare 52945.20
25New MexicoThe Education Plan's College Savings Program46.09
26MinnesotaMinnesota College Savings Plan47.44
27MichiganMichigan Education Savings Program (MESP)49.65
28VirginiaInvest52949.81
29AlabamaCollegeCounts 529 Fund51.03
30New HampshireUNIQUE College Investing Plan52.72
31LouisianaSTART Saving Program52.94
32MassachusettsU.Fund College Investing Plan53.19
33West VirginiaSMART529 Select53.21
34ArizonaAZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan53.50
35IdahoIdaho College Savings Program (IDeal)53.67
36DelawareDE529 Education Savings Plan53.91
37ConnecticutConnecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET)54.04
38PennsylvaniaPennsylvania 529 Investment Plan54.48
39South DakotaCollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold)54.57
40MissouriMOST - Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct-sold)54.84
41HawaiiHawaii's College Savings Program54.91
42NevadaThe Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan55.04
43IndianaCollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan56.04
44Rhode IslandCollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold)56.68
45IowaCollege Savings Iowa56.71
46ArkansasArkansas Brighter Future Direct Plan58.05
47ColoradoDirect Portfolio College Savings Plan59.12
48VermontVermont Higher Education Investment Plan59.13
49North CarolinaNC 529 Plan59.53
50New YorkNew York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan59.99
51OregonOregon College Savings Plan60.94
52North DakotaCollege SAVE (Direct)65.18
53NebraskaNebraska Education Savings Trust -- Direct College Savings Plan70.11
54MontanaAchieve Montana71.03
55MississippiMississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program84.42
-ArizonaAZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan - Bank PlanN/A

NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model.

The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories.

The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan.

For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper.

Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public.

Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures.

For broker-sold plan rankings, click here.