GMAT Scores By State: You’ll Never Guess Where The Highest GMATs Are Scored

When it comes to GMAT scores, you can’t blame MBA applicants for being a little competitive. Well, curious in the very least.

Let’s face it: applicants spend months poring over GMAT guides. They devote commutes, lunch hours, nights, and weekends to pulling up that score. Sure, the pay-off is a ticket to a top-tier business school. Still, a high GMAT score is also a source of pride. Sometimes, people want to know just how good they really are.

A STATE-BY-STATE LOOK

That’s one reason why the GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) posts GMAT averages every year. For American applicants, this translates into the ability to pick through GMAC scores based on state, gender, and ethnicity – and evaluate how this data evolves over time too.

The 2019 American GMAT data is packed with surprises. Which state produces the highest mean GMAT? Technically, it isn’t a state. It is the District of Columbia, where the GMAT average hit 622 in 2019. To put that number in context, Americans averaged a 555 GMAT in 2019 – a number topped by nations ranging from Bulgaria to Brazil. The lowest performer? That would be Mississippi, whose 463 number bests war-torn Syria by only four points. Of course, Mississippi test-takers also rank as the youngest, averaging 23.9 years of age when they complete the GMAT.

That’s just the start. Logically, California produces the most test-takers. After all, it is the most populous state in the union, home to nearly 40 million people. That doesn’t mean test-takers are automatically headed to MBA programs. Reality is, nearly 20% of test-takers opt to pursue a master’s degree or doctorate instead. Surprised? Only three states place a higher percentage of test-takers in MBA programs than California. Now, compare that to Iowa, where just 48.2% chose the MBA route.

The highest-scoring group in the United States? That honor belongs to Asian Americans, who produced a 594 mean GMAT in 2019. The fastest-improving group? Over the past four years, Native American GMAT scores have climbed from 479 to 513, a number that eclipses improvements made by Hispanics (+14) and African Americans (+19) over that same period. Par for the course, American men outpaced their female counterparts in completing the GMAT by a 58%-to-42% margin. That said, Nevada actually reported more female test-takers than men. The MBA was also less popular among women. Notably, less than half of female test-takers chose the MBA route in nine states.

Which states boast the highest and lowest GMAT scores? How does GMAT completion between men and women differ in various states? What ages are professionals taking the GMAT in various regions of the United States? How have these GMAT scores changed over the past five years? Click on the links below for the answers.

GMAT SCORES BY STATE (2015-2019)

NUMBER OF GMATs BY STATE (2018-2019)

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN GMAT TEST-TAKING BY STATE

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PURSUING AN MBA BY STATE

MEAN AGE OF GMAT TEST-TAKERS BY STATE

U.S. RACE & ETHNICITY GMAT DATA

U.S. REGIONAL GMAT DATA