More than a million students across the country take the SAT each year. So what do SAT scores by state look like? How do you stack up against other test takers in your state? Finally, what are some interesting state facts—for example, which state has the highest SAT score? The lowest SAT score? The highest rate of participation?

It's the battle of the states, SAT edition. Find out your state's average SAT scores and other fun facts in this article!

What Is the National Average SAT Score?

Before we get into the SAT averages by state, let's quickly go over the SAT scoring system as well as what the overall average SAT score in the US currently is.

As you probably know, the SAT is made up of three sections: Reading, Writing and Language (also just called Writing), and Math. The Math section is scored on a scale of 200-800, while the Reading and Writing sections are combined to give you a final Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score on a scale of 200-800.

By combining these two sections, we get a total SAT score range of 400-1600, with 1600 being a perfect score.

Now that we've got this down, let's take a look the national average SAT score. In 2019, the College Board reported the following average SAT scores:

Total: 1059

1059 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW): 531

531 Math: 528

As you can see, the average scores for EBRW and Math are quite close. These then add up to get a total SAT average score that's around the halfway point of the total score range (400-1600).

But what are the average SAT scores by state? Keep reading to learn some interesting trends and to see the notable top spots held by different states!

State SAT Awards

We'll start with the states that have won our "State SAT Awards." The categories for these are as follows:

Highest SAT Score

Highest SAT Score With Over 20% Participation

Team Players (100% Participation)

Lowest SAT Score

Most Variation Between SAT Sections

All data below comes from the College Board's 2019 SAT state reports.

Highest Score: Minnesota (SAT Score: 1284)

Minnesota takes the cake for highest average SAT score with 1284. This is 225 points higher than the national average!

But wait—Minnesota also has lower test participation than 78% of the US at 4%. In other words, just 2,567 seniors took the test in 2019.

Because more students in Minnesota take the ACT than they do the SAT, Minnesota's high average SAT score likely means that only the most prepared, ambitious high schoolers take the SAT. These students tend to score higher, effectively raising the state's average.

But what if we look instead at states with a significant participation rate—that is, a state in which more than 20% of students take the SAT? The winner for that SAT award is ...

Highest Score With Over 20% Participation: Arizona (SAT Score: 1134, with 31% Participation)

Great achievement here! With more than 21,000 students in the class of 2019 taking the SAT here, Arizona is truly outperforming the national average.

Team Players (100% Participation): Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, and Rhode Island

In Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, and Rhode Island, every student took the SAT. This usually means that these states require all high school students to take the SAT as part of normal high school testing.

Four other states—Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, and West Virginia—as well as the District of Columbia offered the SAT statewide during the 2018-19 school year. But because the test wasn't mandatory for all students in these states for the entire school year, participation rates here are below 100%.

The highest participation rate for non-mandatory testing goes to Florida, at 100%.

Lowest Score: West Virginia (SAT Score: 943)

Unfortunately, West Virginia underperforms the national average by more than 100 points. Also ranking at the bottom are other states with statewide SAT testing (Delaware and District of Columbia) as well as Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. From the data, it's reasonable to conclude that statewide testing causes lower scores because it includes all seniors and not just those planning to apply to college.

The lowest SAT score for a non-mandatory state is 963 in Oklahoma. This is unusual for a state where 22% of graduating seniors take the SAT. For comparison, Nevada (20% participation), Ohio (19% participation), and New Mexico (18% participation) all have average SAT scores of 1070 or above.

The most likely reason for this low score is the change in number and percent of students taking the SAT in Oklahoma in 2018-2019, compared to previous years.

Only 8% of Oklahoma students in the class of 2018 (3,337 students) took the SAT, with an overall average SAT score of 1062. Compare this to the 22% of the class of 2019 (9,272 students); nearly three times as many graduating Oklahoma seniors in 2019 took the SAT as in 2018.

There are a couple of other states which saw substantial changes in the percentage of students taking the SAT between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, most notably West Virginia (which jumped from 28% participation in 2017-2018 to 99% participation in 2018-2019), so the increased numbers of students in Oklahoma taking the SAT isn't the full answer for the low average SAT score.

While it's difficult to say for sure without more data, however, the most likely reason more students taking the SAT meant Oklahoma's average SAT scores dropped below West Virginia's has to do with student preparedness.

The reason such a high percentage of students took the SAT in West Virginia is that it is mandatory for all juniors (except those taking the West Virginia Alternative Summer Assessment). Because it's a statewide test, there's likely specific SAT preparation done within schools (particularly since it might affect school and district standing and funding).

By contrast, while in Oklahoma a particular school district chooses to administer either the SAT or ACT, there's no statewide mandate to spend time in classrooms prepping for the SAT specifically.

Most Variation Between Sections: Florida (516 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, 483 Math)

With a participation rate of 100%, Florida also has the greatest difference between SAT section scores of all states. On average, Florida students score 33 points higher on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) than they do on Math.

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List of All Average State SAT Scores

Here are the most recent average SAT scores for all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Find your area below and see how your SAT score compares with your region's average!

State Participation Rate EBRW

Math Total Alabama 7% 583 560 1143 Alaska 41% 556 541 1097 Arizona 31% 569 565 1134 Arkansas 6% 582 559 1141 California 63% 534 531 1065 Colorado 100% 518 506 1024 Connecticut 100% 529 516 1046 Delaware 100% 499 486 985 District of Columbia 94% 495 480 975 Florida 100% 516 483 999 Georgia 71% 538 519 1058 Hawaii 54% 550 550 1100 Idaho 100% 505 488 993 Illinois 100% 509 504 1013 Indiana 66% 543 537 1080 Iowa 3% 622 622 1244 Kansas 4% 618 623 1241 Kentucky 4% 620 612 1232 Louisiana 5% 610 591 1200 Maine 99% 512 502 1013 Maryland 82% 535 523 1058 Massachusetts 81% 559 561 1120 Michigan 100% 507 496 1003 Minnesota 4% 636 648 1284 Mississippi 3% 628 608 1237 Missouri 4% 622 615 1236 Montana 9% 603 596 1199 Nebraska 3% 628 631 1260 Nevada 20% 580 576 1156 New Hampshire 95% 533 526 1059 New Jersey 82% 544 545 1090 New Mexico 18% 543 530 1073 New York 79% 531 533 1064 North Carolina 51% 554 546 1100 North Dakota 2% 627 636 1263 Ohio 19% 550 548 1097 Oklahoma 22% 490 472 963 Oregon 51% 562 550 1112 Pennsylvania 70% 545 537 1082 Puerto Rico — 483 462 944 Rhode Island 100% 503 492 995 South Carolina 68% 526 504 1030 South Dakota 3% 633 635 1268 Tennessee 7% 618 602 1220 Texas 68% 515 507 1022 Utah 4% 614 615 1230 Vermont 66% 560 546 1106 Virgin Islands — 490 445 935 Virginia 68% 567 551 1119 Washington 70% 539 535 1074 West Virginia 99% 483 460 943 Wisconsin 3% 635 648 1283 Wyoming 3% 623 615 1238

Source: The College Board

What's Next?

Confused about SAT scoring? Learn more about how the SAT is scored, and get tips on how to figure out your SAT goal score based on the schools you're applying to.

Wondering what it takes to get a perfect SAT score? I scored a perfect SAT score and wrote a detailed guide about what it takes here. Read this to learn all of my best strategies—and to get a 1600 on test day!

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