Average ACT Score by State
One of the best ways to improve your opportunities for college admission is to have a high ACT score. While you do not need to have a perfect score to get into college (although it certainly doesn’t hurt!), getting a score that is higher than average will significantly boost your chances of getting into a great school.
Keep an eye on the average ACT scores for your state and the colleges you are considering so that you have a good idea of where you stand and if you will need to improve your score.
Average state ACT scores
Whether your score is above or below average will depend on the state where you live and the colleges you want to attend. A score of 23 would be below average if you live in Connecticut, for instance, where the average ACT score is 25.6; however, it would be far above average for Nevada, where the average ACT score is 17.7.
Furthermore, while your score might be high for your state, it could be low for the state where your dream school is located or when compared to other students who are applying for admittance. It is important for you to be aware of the average ACT score of college applicants from your state as well as those who are applying for the same schools that you want to attend so that you can be sure that your score is high enough to make your application stand out.
Here are the average composite ACT scores for each state according to World Population Review:
| State | Average ACT Score |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 19.1 |
| Alaska | 20.8 |
| Arizona | 19.2 |
| Arkansas | 19.4 |
| California | 22.7 |
| Colorado | 23.9 |
| Connecticut | 25.6 |
| Delaware | 23.8 |
| Florida | 19.9 |
| Georgia | 21.4 |
| Hawaii | 18.9 |
| Idaho | 22.3 |
| Illinois | 23.9 |
| Indiana | 22.5 |
| Iowa | 21.8 |
| Kansas | 21.6 |
| Kentucky | 20.2 |
| Louisiana | 19.2 |
| Maine | 24 |
| Maryland | 22.5 |
| Massachusetts | 25.5 |
| Michigan | 24.4 |
| Minnesota | 21.3 |
| Mississippi | 18.6 |
| Missouri | 20 |
| Montana | 20 |
| Nebraska | 20.1 |
| Nevada | 17.7 |
| New Hampshire | 25.1 |
| New Jersey | 23.7 |
| New Mexico | 19.4 |
| New York | 24.5 |
| North Carolina | 19.1 |
| North Dakota | 20.3 |
| Ohio | 20.3 |
| Oklahoma | 19.3 |
| Oregon | 21.3 |
| Pennsylvania | 23.5 |
| Rhode Island | 24.2 |
| South Carolina | 18.3 |
| South Dakota | 21.9 |
| Tennessee | 19.6 |
| Texas | 20.6 |
| Utah | 20.4 |
| Vermont | 24.1 |
| Virginia | 23.9 |
| Washington | 22.2 |
| West Virginia | 20.3 |
| Wisconsin | 20.5 |
| Wyoming | 20 |
Comparing your score
When you get ready to apply for colleges, you will want to have a good idea of how your ACT score ranks against test takers from your state as well as applicants at your prospective schools.
If the average ACT score from your state is higher than yours, or if the universities you want to attend tend to have applicants with better ACT scores, you know you need to do something to improve your score. When your score is higher than average, you will drastically improve the likelihood that you will get into the colleges on your list.
If you want to step up your test performance so that your ACT score is above average, PrepExpert can help. Prep Expert has all of the tips and tricks you need to score higher on the ACT so that you stand out among the crowd of test-takers.
Learn more about PrepExpert ACT courses when you visiting our ACT course offerings.