Best/Worst
Public School Rankings by State 2026
New York 1st
Highest
Arizona 50th
Lowest
Overall Public School Rank
10th
20th
30th
40th
50th
States Ranked by Public School Quality
State | Overall Public School Rank 2025↑ | 1 Year Change 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | New York | 1st | 1 |
 | Connecticut | 2nd | 6 |
 | Massachusetts | 3rd | -2 |
 | New Jersey | 4th | -1 |
 | Illinois | 5th | 12 |
 | Washington | 6th | -2 |
 | Virginia | 7th | 2 |
 | California | 8th | 24 |
 | Maryland | 9th | 3 |
 | Pennsylvania | 10th | -5 |
 | Wisconsin | 11th | -1 |
 | Kentucky | 12th | 13 |
 | Wyoming | 13th | -2 |
 | Minnesota | 14th | -7 |
 | Nebraska | 15th | -1 |
 | Vermont | 16th | -10 |
 | Georgia | 17th | 13 |
 | Rhode Island | 18th | -3 |
 | Maine | 19th | -6 |
 | Tennessee | 20th | 8 |
 | Delaware | 21st | 15 |
 | New Hampshire | 22nd | -6 |
 | Missouri | 23rd | 1 |
 | Florida | 24th | 17 |
 | Colorado | 25th | 10 |
 | Iowa | 26th | -4 |
 | Kansas | 27th | 2 |
 | Hawaii | 28th | 5 |
 | Mississippi | 29th | 10 |
 | North Carolina | 30th | 4 |
 | Indiana | 31st | 12 |
 | North Dakota | 32nd | -13 |
 | Montana | 33rd | -13 |
 | Texas | 34th | 6 |
 | Ohio | 35th | -9 |
 | South Dakota | 36th | -18 |
 | Michigan | 37th | -14 |
 | Arkansas | 38th | 7 |
 | Utah | 39th | -2 |
 | Oregon | 40th | -9 |
 | Louisiana | 41st | 1 |
 | South Carolina | 42nd | -4 |
 | Alabama | 43rd | 7 |
 | West Virginia | 44th | 2 |
 | Idaho | 45th | 2 |
 | New Mexico | 46th | 3 |
 | Oklahoma | 47th | 1 |
 | Nevada | 48th | -4 |
 | Alaska | 49th | -22 |
 | Arizona | 50th | 1 |
- All data are expressed as rankings from 1 (best) to 51 (worst).
- Overall ranks are based on four categories: K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher education quality, and safety. K-12 performance looks at graduation rates, test scores, and reading/math proficiency. School funding includes teacher salaries, student expenditures, and teacher qualifications, while higher education quality evaluates college graduation rates, tuition fees, and funding. Safety focuses on school safety boards, gun violence, and criminal offenses at colleges.
- Washington DC was given a ranking in 2024, but not in 2025.
Key Findings
States with the Best Public Schools
-
New York (1st), Connecticut (2nd), Massachusetts (3rd), and New Jersey (4th) rank among the states with the best public schools.
-
Top-ranked states tend to combine strong academic performance with high levels of school funding, lower student-to-teacher ratios, and consistently safe learning environments.
States with the Worst Public Schools
-
Oklahoma (47th), Nevada (48th), Alaska (49th), and Arizona (50th) rank among the states with the weakest public school systems in the country.
-
Lower-ranked states often struggle across multiple areas at once, including test performance, funding levels, teacher retention, and access to educational resources.
Definitions & Methodology
How Public School Rankings Are Determined Public school rankings evaluate multiple aspects of state education systems, including K-12 academic performance, school funding and resources, and school safety. Rankings aim to measure both student outcomes and the overall quality of educational environments.
Metrics Used Common metrics include graduation rates, standardized test scores, teacher qualifications, per-pupil spending, student-to-teacher ratios, and school safety indicators. Together, these measures provide a broader picture of public school system performance across states.
Last Updated: May 14, 2026
