Massachusetts Residents Have a 47% Chance of Graduating College – Here’s Where That Ranks Us

Cue the "Pomp & Circumstance!"

Ah! Theme music for your reading! Did you look at that headline and think, "egads, only a 47% chance?!" Don't worry, the news is about to get waaaaaaaaayyyy better.

Casinos.com ran the study looking at residents' chances in every state of graduating college. They determined this by finding the number of people with a bachelor’s degree from each state. They divided this number by the population (25+ years old) of their state to get a percentage of graduates from each state. They then ranked each state in order of most likely to graduate from college, based on the percentages.

And now here's that good news I promised. Even though the study revealed that Massachusetts residents only have a 47% chance of going on to graduate college, that percentage is good enough to rank us #1. Residents of Massachusetts have the best odds of graduating from college. Vermonters have the second best odds of graduating college according to the study. Residents of Vermont have a 44% chance of graduating college. New England's dominance ends there as Colorado took the third spot. New Jersey and Maryland round out the Top 5.

I should note that Washington DC actually finished in the top spot with the best odds of it's residents graduating college but I omitted that because A) DC isn't a state, it's a territory and B) that moves Massachusetts to the #1 spot. And it's legit! We're talking US states here, US states...

And Massachusetts isn't just a great place to grow up. It's also growing quickly as a destination for retirement! Florida is on the decline, Massachusetts is booming. I guess "snow birds" may soon have a whole different meaning. We're just birds that exist in the snow during the winter. lol A new study found the 5 best towns in Massachusetts to retire in. If you're curious read on, if you have someone approaching retirement pass it along to them, and if you're way too young for retirement bookmark this page and reference it in 40 years when retirement creeps up. Kidding, of course.

So, you're not going to be a snowbird, huh? You've decided that Mother Nature won't tell you where to spend your time and retire. Florida is for gaggles of other New Englanders but not you! You're looking to retire in the Bay State. But... what are the best places to retire in Massachusetts in 2024? That's exactly what a study by Home Snacks, a service which helps people find a place to live that fits them personally, set out to find out.

They figured out the best places to retire by analyzing Census data to find all places in the Bay State — 245 cities and towns. They weeded those down to 69 by only looking at areas with over 10,000 residents. They looked at criteria taken from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights including cost of living, crime rates, things to do in the city/town, weather, distance to closest international airport, and more. They then ranked each places for each criterion from one to 69, with the lowest number being the best. Average all placings together and BOOM, you more or less have you a list. To see the entire list CLICK HERE. We'll give you the Top 5 below.

RELATED: Maybe you want to consider this while pondering retirement in Massachusetts: People are moving AWAY from Massachusetts in droves!

These are the Top 5 Best Places to Retire in 2024. For each city or town we'll give you the population and the median cost of buying a home and rent. Options, you know? I personally live in the town that landed at #1 on this list and I love living there so much. In fact, my neighbors and I love it there so much we highly suggest #2 on the list. I can't remember what it is right now off the top of my head but we're sure it'll be just perfect for you!

#5 Best Place to Retire in Massachusetts in 2024 is Gloucester!
Gloucester has a population of 29,830. It's median home price is $684,078 and the median rent in the area is $1,390.

#4 Best Place to Retire in Massachusetts in 2024 is Newburyport!
Newburyport has a population of 18,356. It's median home price is $820,037 and the median rent in the area is $1,426.

#3 Best Place to Retire in Massachusetts in 2024 is Milton!
Milton has a population of 28,450. It's median home price is $951,376 and the median rent in the area is $1,454.

#2 Best Place to Retire in Massachusetts in 2024 is Longmeadow!
Longmeadow has a population of 15,789. It's median home price is $469,600 and the median rent in the area is $1,760.

#1 Best Place to Retire in Massachusetts in 2024 is HULL!
Hull has a population of 10,116. It's median home price is $635,254 and the median rent in the area is $1,728.