Louisiana is the third least-educated state in the country, according to a new study.

Researchers from WalletHub looked at a variety of educational and economic metrics to develop new rankings of the country's most and least educated states.

Louisiana came in at No. 48 in terms of total education, followed by West Virginia and Mississippi.

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The state also ranked fourth-lowest among the percentage of residents who have high school diplomas. Ranking below Louisiana were Mississippi, Texas and California. Louisiana's 2017 four-year high school graduation rate was 78.1 percent, marking an increase of 5.8 percent since 2012 and 12.1 percent since 2008.

Other results from the study include:

Louisiana has the second-lowest percentage of residents with an associate's degree or college experience. West Virginia has the lowest percentage.

Louisiana has the fifth-lowest number of residents with bachelor's degrees. It ranks above Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia.

Louisiana is tied for 45th in terms of the lowest number of residents with graduate or professional degrees. Other states ranking low in this category were Nevada, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia and North Dakota.

As part of the study, researchers spoke with Richard Fossey, a professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette who teaches education law and policy.

Fossey told Wallet Hub that one factor for Louisiana's rankings may be that many families leave the state for Texas, where public schools are ranked far higher than those in Louisiana.

"To stop this brain drain, Louisiana must pay its teachers better and provide better working conditions," Fossey told Wallet Hub. "If you compare a typical Texas high school with a Louisiana high school, the contrast is shocking. Texas schools are modern, clean and well-maintained. Louisiana schools are dilapidated in many communities."

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Fossey said another factor is that Louisiana has thousands of jobs in construction, oil production and other fields that do not require a college education.

"States need to do a better job of training people in the new technical trades," he said. "A pipe fitter makes a lot more money than a college graduate with a degree in liberal arts."

According to the study, the most educated states in the country are Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, Connecticut and Colorado.