Q3 2024 529 Performance Rankings: One-Year

Each quarter Saving For College analyzes the investment returns for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans based on the overall investment performance. This table shows how we ranked all direct-sold 529 plans for one-year performance. Direct-sold plans are ones that consumers can enroll in without using a broker or financial advisor. Click here for three-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table.

The Saving For College enrollment-based performance rankings analyze the returns of all age-based or year-of-enrollment portfolios offered by 529 plans. The methodology calculates a hypothetical average annual return for each portfolio across a glidepath from age 0 to 19+ and then ranks the plans from highest to lowest returns. Please view our methodology for more details.

This ranking could be a useful tool when comparing and selecting a 529 plan.

Rankings use data as of September 30, 2024.

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Rank	Plan	State	Average return
1	NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan	New Jersey	23.51%
2	my529	Utah	23.27%Enroll Now
3	Alaska 529	Alaska	23.11%Enroll Now
3	T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan	Alaska	23.11%Enroll Now
5	Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan	Nebraska	23.10%
6	Maryland College Investment Plan	Maryland	22.83%Enroll Now
7	START Saving Program	Louisiana	22.18%
8	NextGen 529 -- Client Direct Series	Maine	22.17%
9	CollegeCounts 529 Fund	Alabama	22.15%Enroll Now
10	Path2College 529 Plan	Georgia	22.11%
11	ISave 529	Iowa	22.09%Enroll Now
12	Oregon College Savings Plan	Oregon	22.08%Enroll Now
13	Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP)	Michigan	22.05%
14	SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan	West Virginia	22.03%
15	SMART529 Select	West Virginia	22.02%
16	Edvest 529	Wisconsin	22.02%Enroll Now
17	ScholarShare 529	California	22.02%
18	Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program	Illinois	21.77%Enroll Now
19	Texas College Savings Plan	Texas	21.70%Enroll Now
20	Oklahoma 529	Oklahoma	21.57%
21	Nebraska Education Savings Trust -- Direct College Savings Plan	Nebraska	21.43%Enroll Now
22	New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan	New York	21.19%Enroll Now
23	The Education Plan	New Mexico	21.00%
24	Minnesota College Savings Plan	Minnesota	20.98%
25	MOST - Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct-sold)	Missouri	20.92%Enroll Now
26	CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold)	South Dakota	20.85%Enroll Now
27	Florida 529 Savings Plan	Florida	20.81%Enroll Now
28	CollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold)	Rhode Island	20.68%
29	USAA 529 Education Savings Plan	Nevada	20.68%
30	UNIQUE College Investing Plan	New Hampshire	20.66%
31	TNStars College Savings 529 Program	Tennessee	20.66%Enroll Now
32	AZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan	Arizona	20.65%
33	U.Fund College Investing Plan	Massachusetts	20.65%
34	DE529 Education Savings Plan	Delaware	20.64%
35	Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET)	Connecticut	20.62%
36	The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan	Nevada	20.57%Enroll Now
37	Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)	Kansas	20.52%
38	Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan	Pennsylvania	20.48%
39	Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal)	Idaho	20.38%
40	Arkansas Brighter Future Direct Plan	Arkansas	20.23%
41	Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage	Ohio	19.98%
42	Indiana529 Direct Savings Plan	Indiana	19.93%Enroll Now
43	Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold)	South Carolina	19.81%Enroll Now
44	Invest529	Virginia	19.78%Enroll Now
45	Hawaii's College Savings Program	Hawaii	19.73%
46	DreamAhead College Investment Plan	Washington	19.63%Enroll Now
47	NC 529 Plan	North Carolina	19.60%Enroll Now
48	Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan	Colorado	19.57%
49	Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan	Vermont	19.57%
50	Schwab 529 College Savings Plan	Kansas	19.55%
51	Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program	Mississippi	19.44%
52	College SAVE (Direct)	North Dakota	19.38%
53	KY Saves 529	Kentucky	19.06%
54	Achieve Montana	Montana	18.20%
55	DC College Savings Plan	District of Columbia	17.95%

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More information

NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least three portfolios covering at least 10 age bands with sufficiently long performance to be included in our ranking model.

The Saving For College enrollment-based rankings compare historical investment returns of only the age-based and year-of-enrollment portfolios offered by each 529 plan.

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.

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