约翰逊就读于马萨诸塞州[[剑桥 (马萨诸塞州)|剑桥]]的私立学校{{tsl|en|Buckingham Browne and Nichols||白金汉·布朗和尼科尔斯}}，后于1984年从{{tsl|en|Hobart and William Smith Colleges||霍巴特和威廉·史密斯大学}}获得艺术史[[文学士|学士]]学位。<ref>{{cite web|title=William Smith Leaders: Abigail P. Johnson '84|url=http://www.hws.edu/centennial/johnson.asp|website=William Smith College|accessdate=2015-05-04|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100952/http://www.hws.edu/centennial/johnson.asp|dead-url=no}}</ref>在1985-86年间短暂担任[[博思艾伦汉密尔顿控股公司]]的顾问之后，约翰逊在[[哈佛商学院]]完成了[[工商管理碩士]]（MBA）学位。<ref name=":1" /><ref name="NYTimes 1988">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/style/abby-johnson-has-wedding.html |title=Abby Johnson Has Wedding |work=[[纽约时报|The New York Times]] |date=1988-06-26 |accessdate=2011-02-24 |archive-date=2019-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702221609/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/style/abby-johnson-has-wedding.html |dead-url=no }}</ref><ref name="BusinessWeek 2002">{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2002-07-07/fidelity-here-comes-abby |title=Fidelity: Here Comes Abby |work=[[彭博商业周刊|BusinessWeek]] |date=2002-07-08 |accessdate=2016-07-24 |archive-date=2019-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702221608/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2002-07-07/fidelity-here-comes-abby |dead-url=no }}</ref>