Best States for Education 2025

State	Best Education Rank (USNews 2024)↑	Graduation Debt 2024	High School Graduation Rate 2024	NAEP Math Scores 2024	Adult Literacy Rate 2023	Mean SAT Math Score 2023	% of Residents with a College Degree
Florida	1	$13,872	87.3%	271	80.3%	480	30.55%
Utah	2	$10,794	88.2%	282	90.6%	617	34.68%
Massachusetts	3	$15,770	90.1%	284	90.1%	593	44.53%
New Jersey	4	$15,568	85.2%	281	83.1%	563	40.73%
Colorado	5	$12,880	82.3%	275	90.1%	528	41.6%
Wisconsin	6	$13,952	90.3%	281	92.7%	611	30.8%
Wyoming	7	$10,843	81.8%	281	91.1%	607	28.18%
Connecticut	8	$15,642	88.9%	276	91.4%	527	40.01%
New Hampshire	9	$15,212	87.7%	279	94.2%	526	37.55%
Virginia	10	$14,910	89.1%	279	88%	567	39.51%
Iowa	11	$13,757	89.9%	277	92.5%	620	29.32%
New York	12	$15,686	86.7%	274	77.9%	531	37.46%
Washington	13	$12,758	83.6%	276	90.2%	535	36.68%
Nebraska	14	$13,320	87.1%	279	92.7%	620	32.5%
South Dakota	15	$13,553	82.1%	281	93%	610	29.3%
Illinois	16	$14,926	87.3%	275	87.1%	498	35.52%
Minnesota	17	$13,956	83.6%	280	94%	636	36.78%
Idaho	18	$11,145	79.9%	282	89.5%	483	28.67%
Kansas	19	$13,382	89.1%	272	92.2%	623	33.92%
Maryland	20	$14,944	86.3%	269	88.8%	531	40.9%
North Carolina	21	$14,841	86.4%	274	86.4%	571	32.04%
Montana	22	$12,183	85.8%	277	91.2%	607	33.14%
California	23	$13,019	87%	270	76.9%	530	34.72%
Vermont	24	$14,474	82.8%	276	93.4%	553	39.66%
Indiana	25	$13,476	87.7%	279	92%	544	27.16%
Georgia	26	$13,968	84.1%	271	83.3%	534	32.2%
Ohio	27	$14,165	86.2%	276	90.9%	523	28.89%
North Dakota	28	$13,592	85.1%	278	93.7%	628	30.68%
Texas	29	$12,664	89.7%	273	81%	498	30.69%
Missouri	30	$14,185	89.8%	272	92.5%	606	29.94%
Tennessee	31	$13,950	90.4%	272	86.8%	602	28.15%
Hawaii	32	$13,171	86%	270	84.1%	572	33.57%
Delaware	33	$14,876	87.8%	264	89.3%	485	32.66%
Kentucky	34	$13,919	90.1%	269	87.8%	603	25.02%
Mississippi	35	$12,960	88.9%	266	84%	589	22.75%
Rhode Island	36	$15,120	83.3%	270	91.5%	497	35.02%
Nevada	37	$11,479	81.7%	269	83.9%	598	25.46%
Arkansas	38	$12,995	88.2%	267	86.3%	584	23.82%
Pennsylvania	39	$15,611	87%	274	87.4%	557	32.33%
Oregon	40	$12,756	81.3%	270	89.8%	554	34.4%
Michigan	41	$14,848	81%	273	91.7%	508	29.99%
South Carolina	42	$14,766	83.8%	269	85.3%	507	28.99%
Maine	43	$14,759	86.1%	273	92.6%	541	32.49%
Arizona	44	$12,364	77.3%	271	86.9%	589	30.31%
Alabama	45	$14,153	88.2%	264	85.2%	568	26.23%
Alaska	46	$11,250	77.8%	270	90.8%	553	29.99%
Louisiana	47	$13,566	83.1%	266	84%	583	24.86%
West Virginia	48	$13,477	91.2%	260	86.6%	487	21.3%
Oklahoma	49	$12,644		264	87.7%	507	26.15%
New Mexico	50	$10,879	259%		83.5%	488	28.14%
United States		$13,659.60		273.49		557.44

Education is an extremely important institution around the world. Education is a dominant factor in determining how developed a country is, reduces poverty, boosts the economy, and promotes peace. In the United States, the quality of education and educational attainment level one receives strongly correlate with median incomes.

Whether you’re a soon-to-be college student trying to figure out your next move after high school graduation or you have children in your household, there’s one thing that both have in common: the desire to find the best schools. A great school system is a selling point for homes on the market, and college students are willing to pay extra money to attend out-of-state schools. These examples are just two that show how important education is to many people.

While there are great schools in every state in the U.S., some states have special school districts and higher learning institutions that stand out above the rest. Some states are also more educated than others.

There isn’t just one setlist of the best schools, however. Many publications and think tanks have created their lists of the best states for education based on several factors. When selecting a state with the best schools, it’s best to figure out what’s most important for your situation and look at the data surrounding that.

Educational Attainment

Educational attainment strongly correlates with median incomes and a person’s overall standard of living. Educational attainment is impacted by several factors, including socioeconomic status and students’ urban/rural location. The ten states with the highest educational attainment are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. Unsurprisingly, seven of these states are also among the top ten states for school rankings, according to WalletHub. Nine are in the top 20.

States with the Best School Systems

WalletHub ranked every state’s public schools for “Quality” and “Safety” using 33 metrics. Among these were math and reading scores, median SAT and ACT scores, pupil-to-teacher ratio, high school graduation rate among low-income students, and bullying incidents. Unlike other research on the best schools, WalletHub’s analysis is more comprehensive in that it considers performance, safety, class size, funding, and instructor credentials. Based on these metrics, the states with the best school systems, in order, are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Delaware, and Maryland. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maryland are all in both the states with the highest educational attainment and the states with the best school systems.

1. Massachusetts

Massachusetts has the best-ranked public schools in the United States and is the second-most educated state, just behind the District of Columbia. About 90.40% of Massachusetts adults have a high school diploma, and 42.90% have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Almost half of the state’s public schools are ranked in the top 25% of high school rankings. Massachusetts also boasts the highest math and reading test scores and a median ACT score of 25.1.

2. Connecticut

Connecticut has the second-best public school system in the U.S. and is the fifth-most educated state. Connecticut’s median ACT score of 25.5 is the highest in the country. It also has the highest per-pupil spending at about $18,958 per student. Connecticut is also considered to be one of the best states for teachers.

3. New Jersey

New Jersey has the third-best public schools. New Jersey ranks second for the lowest dropout rate and reading test scores. Additionally, it ranks third for the lowest pupil-to-teacher ratio and math test scores. New Jersey spends about $21,866 per student and is the second-best state for teachers. Teachers get paid an average of $69,917 per year in New Jersey. New Jersey has the fifth-highest educational attainment in the country.

4. Virginia

Ranked fourth for its school systems is in Virginia. Virginia is the seventh-most educated U.S. state, with 38.2% of adults having a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Virginia has one of the lowest bullying incidence rates in the U.S. and ranks fourth for math test scores.

5. Vermont

Vermont ranks fifth for the best public schools and has the eighth-most educated population in the U.S. Vermont has the lowest pupil-to-teacher ratio of 10.5:1, allowing teachers to give extra attention to each student. Vermont is tied with Massachusetts and Oklahoma for the lowest percentage of threatened/injured high school students.

6. New Hampshire

Vermont’s neighbor New Hampshire has the sixth-best public schools and the ninth-highest education attainment. About 36.50% of New Hampshire adults have at least a Bachelor’s degree or higher. New Hampshire schools have the second-highest median ACT score of 25.1. New Hampshire’s pupil-to-teacher ratio is 12:1, the fifth-lowest in the country.

7. Minnesota

In seventh place is Minnesota, which has the highest median SAT score in the country, 1298. Minnesota ranks sixth overall for quality and has the second-highest math test scores in the country. Despite concerns over Minnesota’s declining performance in math and reading scores, graduation rates for all student groups have increased in public schools. Minnesota has the second-highest high school diploma attainment rate in the U.S. at 93%.

8. Wisconsin

Wisconsin has the eighth-best public schools. 91.90% of Wisconsin adults have at least a high school diploma. Wisconsin ties with Minnesota for the highest median SAT score of 1298. Additionally, Wisconsin’s pupil-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, lower than the U.S. average of 16:1.

9. Delaware

Delaware schools rank 15th overall for quality and second for safety. Delaware has the second-lowest bullying incident rate and has an above-average ACT score of 24.1. Delaware does fall behind in pupil-to-teacher ratio, which is 22:1, above the national average.

10. Maryland

Maryland tops the top ten list of states with the best public schools. Maryland also has the fourth-highest education attainment in the U.S., with 39.60% of adults having a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Maryland schools have a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 15:1. The average ACT score is 22.3, and the average SAT score is 1058.