https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article316728562.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/e6291da3-179f-4a8c-bd7b-18733fa1c695/1_th.jpg 2026 States with the best & worst early education systems WalletHub ranked the states on the strength of their early education systems using 12 metrics, including the share of school districts offering state pre-K, quality benchmarks met and spending per child enrolled in pre-K. California ranks 34th. https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article316728562.html/video-embed 42 2026-07-31T18:55:07Z no https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article316729094.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/9f01b2f0-abb0-461a-b2e6-5e058b3c573d/1_th.jpg 2026 Best & worst cities for first-time home buyers WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 22 indicators of market attractiveness, affordability and quality of life to help first-time home buyers. The metrics include cost of living, real estate taxes and crime rate. https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article316729094.html/video-embed 44 2026-07-31T19:26:49Z no https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article316728029.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/11af1eb1-cdc5-4ad3-827a-7e6c4b74b464/1_th.jpg States where student loan delinquency is decreasing the most The personal finance website WalletHub released a report ranking the states where student loan delinquency has declined the most. To identify where delinquency is falling the fastest and where borrowers are experiencing the biggest reduction in the risk of financial hardship, WalletHub analyzed proprietary user data from the fourth quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026. California ranks 40th. https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/article316728029.html/video-embed 42 2026-07-31T18:41:13Z no