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States With the Best and Worst School Systems, Ranked


Usually, schools do the grading, but a new WalletHub study put public school systems nationwide to the test.

To determine the states with the best and worst school systems, WalletHub evaluated public school systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 32 weighted metrics falling into two categories: quality, which accounted for 80% of the overall score, and safety, which accounted for 20%.

Factors such as graduation rates, standardized test scores, and pupil-teacher ratios were examined to determine the quality rank. For the safety rank, WalletHub looked at statistics regarding rates of drug use, bullying, school shootings, and disciplinary incidents.

The analysis used data from sources including the US Census Bureau, the Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US News & World Report, and the College Board.

Here’s how every state’s public school system ranked, from worst to best.

51. New Mexico


Albuquerque, New Mexico.

GummyBone/Getty Images

New Mexico has the lowest math and reading scores, as well as the lowest median SAT scores, in the WalletHub study.

50. Alaska


Aerial view of Downtown Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska.

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images

Alaska is tied with Washington for the fifth-highest public school dropout rate among US states, per the WalletHub study. The state also has the lowest four-year high school graduation rate, Business Insider previously found.

WalletHub reported Alaska also has the second-lowest reading and math test scores, the fourth-lowest student-to-teacher ratio, and the highest bullying incidence rate.

49. Oklahoma


Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA downtown skyline at twilight.

Oklahoma City.

Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Oklahoma has the fourth-highest dropout rate, the fourth-lowest reading test scores, and is tied with Nevada for the lowest median ACT score in the WalletHub study.

48. Oregon


Aerial view of Portland, Oregon, showcasing the vibrant downtown with a mix of modern and classic skyscrapers. The Willamette River with a bridge and paddlewheel riverboat adds scenic beauty and historical charm.

Portland, Oregon.

Nicholas Klein/Getty Images

Oregon ranked 47th in the study’s quality rank and 45th in the safety rank.

47. West Virginia


Downtown skyline of Charleston, West Virginia, United States, viewed from across the Kanawha River on a clear, sunny day. The cityscape features historic and modern architecture along the riverfront

Charleston, West Virginia.

Leonid Andronov/Getty Images

West Virginia is tied with New Hampshire and Alabama for the fourth-lowest dropout rates, although its math test scores are the fourth-lowest in the nation; its reading scores rank third-lowest; and its median SAT score is the second-lowest in the country. Bullying incidents in the state are the second-highest in the study.

46. Arizona


Surprise, Arizona

Surprise, Arizona

MattGush/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Arizona tied with Oklahoma and Nevada for the lowest median ACT scores in the WalletHub study.

45. Nevada


Aerial shot of the Summerlin under a blue sky and sunlight in Las Vegas, Nevada stock photo

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wirestock/Getty Images

Nevada tied with Oklahoma and Arizona for the lowest median ACT score, and also had the third-lowest pupil-teacher ratio.

44. Louisiana


Aerial photo Downtown Baton Rouge Louisiana USA stock photo

Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

felixmizioznikov/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Louisiana had the highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students in the WalletHub study. The state also ranked with Mississippi and North Carolina for the fourth-lowest median ACT score.

43. Alabama


Montgomery Alabama Downtown Drone Skyline Aerial

Montgomery, Alabama.

Kruck20/Getty Images

While Alabama is tied with New Hampshire and West Virginia for the fourth-lowest dropout rate in the WalletHub study, the state also ranked third-highest in the percentage of threatened or injured high school students.

42. Hawaii


Beautiful aerial Waikoloa Beach vista at sunset, Big Island, Hawaii stock photo

Big Island, Hawaii.

akrassel/Getty Images

Hawaii has the third-lowest bullying incidence rate in the US.

41. Missouri


Aerial View of downtown St Charles, Missouri

St. Charles, Missouri

Perry Spring/Getty Images

Missouri ranked 36th in the WalletHub study’s quality category and last in its safety category. In Business Insider’s ranking of high school graduation rates, the state fared better, ranking 10th highest among all states.

40. Idaho


City of trees Boise Idaho with fall colors

Boise, Idaho.

knowlesgallery/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Idaho has the second-highest dropout rate in the WalletHub study, and is tied with Texas for the fifth-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students.

39. Arkansas


Bentonville, Arkansas - September 23, 2024: A view of downtown Bentonville on a cloudy day from the new Ledger building.

Bentonville, Arkansas.

Mak Studio/Getty Images

Arkansas ranked 37th in the study’s safety rank and 39th in the quality rank.

38. South Carolina


Drone Aerial of Main Street in Downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.

Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Kruck20/Getty Images

South Carolina ranked 30th in the study’s safety ranking and 41st on the quality rank.

37. Mississippi


Jackson, Mississippi, USA cityscape at dusk.

Jackson, Mississippi.

SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Despite being tied with New Jersey for the lowest dropout rate in the study, Mississippi also tied with Louisiana and North Carolina for the fourth-lowest median ACT score and the second-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students.

36. Ohio


Downtown Akron, Ohio, USA at autumn sunset features a mix of modern and historic architecture. Prominent are twin-spired churches and contemporary buildings. The foreground shows a parking lot with evenly spaced cars and vibrant green trees. In the background, the skyline rises under a dramatic clouded sky, colored in warm hues by the setting sun. The scene captures a serene and picturesque moment in the city.

Akron, Ohio.

RudyBalasko/Getty Images

Ohio ranked 33rd in the study’s safety ranking and 38th in the quality ranking.

35. Kansas


Aerial View of Lawrence, Kansas and its State University stock photo

Lawrence, Kansas.

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Kansas tied with Wisconsin for the fourth-highest median SAT score but also had the fourth-highest percentage of high school students who were threatened or injured.

34. Georgia


Macon Georgia USA stock photo

Macon, Georgia

SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Georgia ranked 35th in the study’s quality rank and 42nd in the safety rank.

33. Michigan


Downtown Lansing Michigan Capital Skyline stock photo

Lansing, Michigan.

Craig Rinzema/Getty Images

Michigan ranked 24th in the study’s safety ranking but 37th in the quality ranking.

32. Texas


Aerial View of Downtown, Plano Texas in the DFW Metro stock photo

Plano, Texas

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images

Texas tied with Idaho for the fifth-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students in the WalletHub study.

31. California


Wide view of Oakland City in California with aerial of Alameda County Superior Courthouse stock photo

Oakland, California.

Nicholas Klein/Getty Images

California tied with Massachusetts for the third-highest median ACT score and the second-lowest percentage of threatened or injured high school students, but also had the worst pupil-teacher ratio out of all states and Washington, DC.

30. District of Columbia


The Washington Memorial, the National Mall, and the U.S. Congress can be seen side by side.

Washington, DC.

Westy72/Getty Images

The District of Columbia had the lowest bullying incidence rate, the highest median ACT score, and the second-highest pupil-teacher ratio, but also had the fourth-lowest median SAT score, third-lowest math test scores, and the highest dropout rate in the WalletHub study.

29. North Carolina


An aerial view of Cary, North Carolina after a Summer thundershower.

Cary, North Carolina

David Sweatman/Getty Images

North Carolina had the third-lowest percentage of threatened or injured high school students, per the WalletHub study.

28. Washington


Downtown Bellevue Skyline stock photo

Bellevue, Washington.

gmc3101/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Washington is tied with Alaska for the fifth-highest dropout rate in the US.

27. Colorado


Panorama of Denver skyline long exposure at twilight.

Denver, Colorado

f11photo/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Colorado has the third-highest reading test scores in the US, according to the WalletHub study.

26. South Dakota


Aerial view of Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County in South Dakota and the second most populous city in the state.

Rapid City, South Dakota.

Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images

South Dakota ranked 23rd in the WalletHub study’s safety rank.

25. Montana


Missoula, Montana.

Missoula, Montana.

Jon Bilous/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Montana’s public school system ranked 20th in quality and 29th in safety.

24. Illinois


Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago, Illinois.

marchello74/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In Illinois, the state’s public school system ranked 19th in quality and 28th in safety nationwide.

23. Minnesota


Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sean Pavone/Getty Images

Minnesota’s public school system ranked 18th in quality, with fourth and eighth-graders scoring the third-highest in math. It ranked 32nd in safety.

22. Tennessee


Knoxville, Tennessee.

Knoxville, Tennessee.

Kruck20/Getty Images

Tennessee’s public schools placed 12th in quality and 44th in safety, according to WalletHub’s ranking.

21. Iowa


Dubuque, Iowa.

Dubuque, Iowa.

GummyBone/Getty Images

Iowa’s public school system earned the highest median SAT scores of any state, contributing to its ranking of 23rd in quality overall. It ranked 22nd in safety, with the fifth-highest bullying incidence rate.

20. Wyoming


Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

WitGorski/Getty Images

The public school system in Wyoming ranked 15th in quality and 31st in safety, with the fourth-highest bullying incidence rate of any state.

19. Utah


Salt Lake City, Utah.

Salt Lake City, Utah.

Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images

Utah’s school system ranked second-highest in math, contributing to its overall quality ranking of 22nd. The study found it has the second-worst pupil-teacher ratio, and its safety ranking was 16th.

18. Pennsylvania


Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tomoyuki Maruyama/Getty Images

Pennsylvania’s public school system was ranked 13th in quality and 27th in safety.

17. Kentucky


Bardstown, Kentucky.

Bardstown, Kentucky.

Brian Koellish/Getty Images

Kentucky’s public school system was ranked 21st in quality and 12th in safety. The state had the highest high school graduation rate among all states, per Business Insider’s previous analysis.

16. Delaware


Wilmington, Delaware.

Wilmington, Delaware.

Bo Shen/Getty Images

Delaware’s school system was ranked 32nd in quality. It earned the No. 1 spot for safety, with the lowest percentage of students who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school grounds, and the second-lowest bullying incidence rate.

15. Indiana


Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indianapolis, Indiana.

Nicholas Klein/Getty Images

WalletHub ranked Indiana’s public school system 17th in quality and 11th in safety.

14. Maryland


Baltimore, Maryland.

Baltimore, Maryland.

Thomas Berberich/Getty Images

Maryland’s school system was ranked 26th in quality and fourth in safety, according to WalletHub.

13. Florida


Key West, Florida.

Key West, Florida.

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images

In Florida, the public school system placed 16th in quality and ninth in safety.

12. Maine


Augusta, Maine.

Augusta, Maine.

SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Maine’s public school system is one of the safest in the nation, coming in third overall. It placed 24th in WalletHub’s quality ranking.

11. Nebraska


Omaha, Nebraska.

Omaha, Nebraska.

f1monaco31/Getty Images

Nebraska’s school system tied with North Dakota for the second-highest median SAT scores of any state. Overall, the state’s schools ranked 14th in quality and 10th in safety.

10. North Dakota


Bismarck, North Dakota.

Bismarck, North Dakota.

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In North Dakota, the state’s public school system ranked eighth in quality and 26th in safety. Its median SAT scores tied for second-highest with Nebraska.

9. Rhode Island


Newport, Rhode Island.

Newport, Rhode Island.

Beth Fitzpatrick/Getty Images

Rhode Island’s school system placed within the top 10 of both of WalletHub’s ranking categories, landing at 10th in quality and eighth in safety.

8. New York


New York, New York.

New York, New York.

william87/Getty Images

WalletHub ranked New York’s school system sixth in quality and 19th in safety.

7. Vermont


Montpelier, Vermont.

Montpelier, Vermont.

jenifoto/Getty Images

With the best pupil-teacher ratio in the nation, Vermont’s school system ranked seventh in quality and 13th in safety, according to WalletHub’s analysis.

6. Virginia


Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond, Virginia.

Sean Pavone/Getty Images

In Virginia, the public school system ranked ninth in quality and fifth in safety. Virginia schools also had the fifth-lowest bullying incidence rate.

5. Wisconsin


Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jon Mattrisch/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Wisconsin public schools ranked fifth in quality and 18th in safety. The state’s school system also featured the fourth-highest median SAT scores, tied with Kansas.

4. New Hampshire


Concord, New Hampshire.

Concord, New Hampshire.

Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images

New Hampshire’s school system ranked fourth in quality and 15th in safety. It features the fourth-lowest dropout rate (tied with Alabama and West Virginia) and the fourth-highest reading and math test scores among fourth- and eighth-graders.

3. New Jersey


Newark, New Jersey.

Newark, New Jersey.

johnemac72/Getty Images

Fourth- and eighth-grade students in New Jersey’s school system earned the second-best reading test scores and fifth-best math scores among all states.

Around 8.5% of schools in New Jersey rank in the top 700 schools nationwide.

In WalletHub’s overall ranking, New Jersey’s school system ranked second in quality and 20th in safety.

2. Connecticut


Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Fairfield County, Connecticut.

ElizaJay/Getty Images

Connecticut’s public school system ranked third in quality and sixth in safety, per WalletHub. Connecticut schools feature high ACT scores, the seventh-best pupil-to-teacher ratio, and the lowest prevalence of illegal drugs on school property of any state.

1. Massachusetts


Boston, Massachusetts.

Boston, Massachusetts.

Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images

WalletHub’s analysis determined that Massachusetts has the best public school system in the US, ranking first in quality and second in safety overall.

The state’s fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading scores are the highest of any state, and a higher share of students scored a three or above on their AP exams in Massachusetts than in any other state.





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