Top 10 Direct-Sold 529 Plans 2021

Facebook icon Twitter icon Print icon Email icon
Savingforcollege.com Editorial Team

Each quarter Savingforcollege.com ranks the best direct-sold 529 plans based on 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year investment performance.

Our Performance Ranking Methodology was developed in 2012 and is widely used by families and industry professionals. We calculate a “performance score” by analyzing the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each state’s 529 savings plan programs. The plans are then ranked according to their score.

These rankings are intended to help guide your decision when selecting a direct-sold 529 plan. For more details, please view our methodology.

Keep in mind that investment performance is just one factor to consider when choosing a 529 college savings program. It’s also important to make sure the 529 plan has low fees, since the more you pay in fees the less you’ll be able to save for college.

You may also be able to boost your savings with a state income tax credit or state income tax deduction for 529 plan contributions (in all but seven of these states you must use your home state’s plan to qualify).

This slideshow highlights the 529 plans with the best performance scores, based on three-year investment performance. Read on to see if your state’s plan made the top 10 list.

Best 529 plans

The top-performing direct-sold 529 plans

Rankings as of March 31, 2021, based on three-year performance.

Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan

10. Colorado

Performance Score: 36.04

The Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers a variety of Vanguard investment options, including age-based and static portfolios.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are fully deductible from Colorado state income tax.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Michigan

9. Michigan

Performance Score: 35.67

The Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) is a highly-rated 529 plan that is available nationwide. It features an enrollment year option, six multi-fund options, a single fund option and a principal protection option.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are deductible from Michigan income tax up to a certain limit.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Nevada

8. Nevada

Performance Score: 35.42

The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers a variety of Vanguard investment options, including Target Enrollment Portfolios, multi-fund portfolios and single-fund individual portfolios.

Additional benefits

  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan

7. Pennsylvania

Performance Score: 33.03

The Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers a variety of age-based and static Vanguard investment options, including a socially responsible equity portfolio.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are deductible from Pennsylvania state income tax up to a certain limit.
  • Every child born in the Commonwealth receives a $100 contribution through the Keystone Scholars Program.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
New York

6. New York

Performance Score: 32.63

New York’s 529 College Savings Program – Direct Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers a variety of diverse investment options featuring Vanguard mutual funds.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are deductible from New York income tax up to a certain limit.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
South Carolina

5. South Carolina

Performance Score: 31.75

The Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-Sold) s a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available exclusively to South Carolina residents. It offers investment options from Columbia and Vanguard.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are fully deductible from South Carolina income tax.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Wisconsin

4. Wisconsin

Performance Score: 31.48

Wisconsin’s Edvest is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 college savings plan available to residents of any state. It offers low minimums and a variety of investment options from TIAA-CREF, T. Rowe Price and others.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are deductible from Wisconsin income tax up to a certain limit.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Indiana

3. Indiana

Performance Score: 31.07

The CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers age-based and individual portfolio options from Vanguard, DFA and other fund families. The savings portfolio invests in the NexBank High-Yield Savings account.

Additional benefits

  • Residents may claim an Indiana state tax credit for contributions up to a certain limit.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
Ohio

2. Ohio

Performance Score: 29.35

Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available nationwide. It offers age-based, risk-based and enrollment-based portfolios from Vanguard and DFA Funds, and two FDIC-insured investment options from Fifth Third Bank.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are deductible from Ohio income tax up to a certain limit.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.
West Virginia

1. West Virginia

Performance Score: 27.90

The SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan is a low-cost, direct-sold 529 plan that is available exclusively to West Virginia residents. It offers low fees and a variety of investment options to help you grow your college savings.

Additional benefits

  • Contributions are fully deductible from West Virginia income tax.
  • Plan beneficiaries who are born or adopted in West Virginia are eligible for a $100 seed contribution through the SMART529 Bright Babies Program.
  • The program offers an e-gifting platform for receiving 529 plan gift contributions.

Next: See how we rank 529 plan performance + the full list

How we rank direct-sold 529 plan performance

We developed a special methodology to rank each state’s 529 plan program.

Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans, based on their allocation among stocks, bonds and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments).

We place each portfolio in one of seven different asset-allocation categories, ranging from 100 percent equity to 100 percent short-term.

Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between one (best) and 100 (worst).

Separate rankings are developed for one-, three-, five-, and 10-year investment performance.

Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan’s percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or ‘composite’ percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings.

Note: We currently produce these composite rankings for one-, three-, five- and 10-year investment performance.

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

Here is the full list of direct-sold 529 plan rankings Q1 2021.

More information

Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for advisor-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings and to separate one-year, three-year, five-year and 10-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories.

In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 plan portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool.

Subscribe for the latest college saving tips and news:

* indicates required


Follow us >> FacebookTwitterLinkedInInstagram <<

At Savingforcollege.com, our goal is to help you make smart decisions about saving and paying for education. Some of the products featured in this article are from our partners, but this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own.

A good place to start:

See the best 529 plans, personalized for you

×