Q2 2023 529 plan rankings: Ten-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.

Ten-year performance ranking (click here for one-year performance table, three-year performance table, and five-year performance table):

RankStatePlanPerformance Score
1West VirginiaSMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan25.20
2South CarolinaFuture Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold)31.83
3AlaskaT. Rowe Price College Savings Plan33.70
3AlaskaAlaska 52933.70
5WisconsinEdvest34.31
6MichiganMichigan Education Savings Program (MESP)35.17
7OhioOhio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage36.31
8NevadaThe Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan36.39
9FloridaFlorida 529 Savings Plan37.13
10New YorkNew York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan40.76
11KansasLearning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)40.97
12NebraskaNebraska Education Savings Trust -- Direct College Savings Plan42.39
13Utahmy52942.44
14ArizonaAZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan42.67
15New HampshireUNIQUE College Investing Plan42.70
16MassachusettsU.Fund College Investing Plan42.78
17DelawareDE529 Education Savings Plan42.80
18MarylandMaryland 529 -- Maryland Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer College Investment Plan44.35
19VirginiaInvest52948.85
20OklahomaOklahoma 52949.47
21North CarolinaNC 529 Plan50.90
22MinnesotaMinnesota College Savings Plan51.12
23MaineNextGen 529 -- Client Direct Series54.31
24ColoradoDirect Portfolio College Savings Plan54.68
25LouisianaSTART Saving Program55.27
26IowaCollege Savings Iowa56.94
27MissouriMOST - Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct-sold)57.26
28AlabamaCollegeCounts 529 Fund60.14
29IdahoIdaho College Savings Program (IDeal)66.44
30HawaiiHawaii's College Savings Program67.27
31KansasSchwab 529 College Savings Plan71.79
32ArkansasArkansas Brighter Future Direct Plan74.06
33West VirginiaSMART529 Select82.02
34NevadaUSAA 529 Education Savings Plan87.42
-ArizonaAZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan - Bank PlanN/A
-CaliforniaScholarShare 529N/A
-ConnecticutConnecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET)N/A
-District of ColumbiaDC College Savings PlanN/A
-GeorgiaPath2College 529 PlanN/A
-IllinoisBright Start Direct-Sold College Savings ProgramN/A
-IndianaCollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings PlanN/A
-KentuckyKY Saves 529N/A
-MississippiMississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) ProgramN/A
-MontanaAchieve MontanaN/A
-NebraskaBloomwell 529 Education Savings PlanN/A
-New JerseyNJBEST 529 College Savings PlanN/A
-New MexicoThe Education Plan's College Savings ProgramN/A
-North DakotaCollege SAVE (Direct)N/A
-OregonOregon College Savings PlanN/A
-PennsylvaniaPennsylvania 529 Investment PlanN/A
-Rhode IslandCollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold)N/A
-South DakotaCollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold)N/A
-TennesseeTNStars College Savings 529 ProgramN/A
-TexasTexas College Savings PlanN/A
-VermontVermont Higher Education Investment PlanN/A
-WashingtonDreamAhead College Investment 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.