Q4 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 December 31, 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
1NevadaUSAA 529 Education Savings Plan22.55
2FloridaFlorida 529 Savings Plan26.84
3New JerseyNJBEST 529 College Savings Plan27.41
4IllinoisBright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program32.39
5LouisianaSTART Saving Program32.98
6Utahmy52933.82
7NebraskaBloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan35.33
8AlaskaT. Rowe Price College Savings Plan38.28
8AlaskaAlaska 52938.28
10KansasSchwab 529 College Savings Plan38.95
11MarylandMaryland 529 -- Maryland Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer College Investment Plan39.70
12TennesseeTNStars College Savings 529 Program39.72
13AlabamaCollegeCounts 529 Fund40.07
14PennsylvaniaPennsylvania 529 Investment Plan41.27
15MassachusettsU.Fund College Investing Plan42.16
16KansasLearning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)43.57
17OregonOregon College Savings Plan43.76
18NebraskaNebraska Education Savings Trust -- Direct College Savings Plan44.08
19HawaiiHawaii's College Savings Program44.09
20MissouriMOST - Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct-sold)44.15
21MaineNextGen 529 -- Client Direct Series44.23
22New HampshireUNIQUE College Investing Plan44.30
23IowaCollege Savings Iowa45.19
24New MexicoThe Education Plan's College Savings Program45.52
25ConnecticutConnecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET)45.55
26South CarolinaFuture Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold)46.67
27VirginiaInvest52946.77
28TexasTexas College Savings Plan47.46
29OhioOhio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage47.64
30NevadaThe Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan47.90
31WashingtonDreamAhead College Investment Plan47.93
32ColoradoDirect Portfolio College Savings Plan49.35
33GeorgiaPath2College 529 Plan49.78
34North CarolinaNC 529 Plan49.93
35CaliforniaScholarShare 52951.14
36WisconsinEdvest 52953.39
37Rhode IslandCollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold)54.08
38North DakotaCollege SAVE (Direct)55.10
39OklahomaOklahoma 52955.59
40New YorkNew York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan56.03
41MichiganMichigan Education Savings Program (MESP)56.07
42West VirginiaSMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan56.23
43KentuckyKY Saves 52956.81
44MinnesotaMinnesota College Savings Plan56.81
45ArkansasArkansas Brighter Future Direct Plan57.97
46IdahoIdaho College Savings Program (IDeal)60.23
47District of ColumbiaDC College Savings Plan61.10
48ArizonaAZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan62.03
49DelawareDE529 Education Savings Plan62.24
50MississippiMississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program64.50
51South DakotaCollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold)64.95
52IndianaCollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan65.00
53West VirginiaSMART529 Select72.02
54VermontVermont Higher Education Investment Plan76.33
55MontanaAchieve Montana82.30
-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.