If you live in Texas, Tennessee, Washington, Kentucky or Hawaii, your state isn’t paying you a cent to use its 529 college savings plan. And none of those states’ plans made Morningstar’s new list of 35 medal winners.
You’re allowed to leave. The new ratings tell you where to go.
The ratings
Morningstar rated 60 college savings plans this week. Nine got Gold, 14 Silver and 12 Bronze. Another 19 got Neutral and six got Negative. There were 10 upgrades and zero downgrades.
The Gold list: Alaska’s T. Rowe Price plan, California’s ScholarShare, Connecticut’s CHET Direct, Georgia’s Path2College, Illinois’ Bright Start Direct-Sold, Massachusetts’ U.Fund, Michigan’s MESP, Pennsylvania’s 529 Investment Plan and Utah’s my529. California, Connecticut, Georgia and Michigan were upgraded.
Morningstar looks at the people, the process, state oversight and fees. It doesn’t look at your state taxes, and it says so. That part’s on you.
Who’s free to shop
Your home state’s plan is the default. That’s the right call if your state gives you a deduction for using it. In 22 states, the default buys you nothing.
Saving for College lists four states with an income tax but no 529 deduction: California, Hawaii, Kentucky and North Carolina. Nine more have no state tax benefit to give: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. And nine “tax parity” states give you the deduction for any state’s plan: Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
If you’re in one of those 22, pick the best plan in the country. Californians and Alaskans already have a Gold plan at home. Easy.
What fees cost you
Bright Start, one of the Gold plans, says its direct plan’s average fees run 0.24% a year versus 0.49% for all 529 plans, citing an ISS Market Intelligence analysis.
That 0.25-point gap sounds like nothing. Put $200 a month away for 18 years at an assumed 6% return before fees, and the cheaper plan ends up about $1,900 ahead. Bigger fee gaps cost more.
Now the other side. Saving for College estimates a couple earning $100,000 who saves $200 a month gets about $119 a year back in Illinois, $360 in Oregon and $480 in Indiana. Over 18 years, that beats a $1,900 fee gap easily.
So the verdict is simple. If your state pays you to stay, stay. If it doesn’t, you’re leaving money on the table by not shopping.
What to do
Look up your state in Saving for College’s table. If you’re in one of the 22, open Morningstar’s list and compare the Gold and Silver plans’ fees on each plan’s own site.
Run the growth math in our investment calculator. And if you do get a deduction, mind the December 31 deadline. More on the education hub.
How Candid Yak makes money. Some of the products we write about pay us if you apply or sign up through our links. That never changes our verdict, our rankings, or the numbers in this article. We call a bad deal a bad deal whether it pays us or not. Some brands shown in our comparison tools are placeholder examples while we finalize partner agreements, and we label them as such.
Sources
- Morningstar 529 Ratings: The Best Plans of 2026 (Morningstar, November 9, 2026)
- Morningstar Releases 2026 Medalist Ratings for 529 College Savings Plans, With 10 Upgrades and No Downgrades (Business Wire via Stock Titan, November 9, 2026)
- Are 529 Contributions Tax Deductible? State-by-State Guide and What It's Worth (Saving for College, updated September 11, 2026)
- Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program: average asset-based fees of 0.24% vs. 0.49% for all 529 plans, ISS Market Intelligence Q4 2025 (Bright Start)