The Best States for Public Education in 2026

The five best states for public education

Four of the five top-ranked states sit in the Northeast, with only Washington breaking the pattern.

“States with stronger tax bases, fewer socioeconomic barriers and a long history of investing in public education often have an advantage,” said Tameka Royal, the CEO of Democracy Prep Public Schools, a New York City-based nonprofit charter school management company. “Those investments compound, which is one reason we often see the same states performing well year after year.”

But the top five didn’t get there the same way. Massachusetts leads the nation in K-12 academic outcomes, while New York’s top spot rests more heavily on school funding and resources.

“Funding tells you what’s available. Outcomes tell you what students are experiencing,” Royal explained. “Resources matter because they create possibilities, but they only matter if they’re translating into stronger instruction, better student experiences and real academic growth.”

No single statistic explains a state’s ranking. The map below shows how every state placed overall and across all four categories: K-12 academic outcomes, school funding and resources, higher education and school safety.

1. Massachusetts

Massachusetts ranks No. 1 for public education, with K-12 academic outcomes that lead the nation. The state posts the top National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math scores in both fourth and eighth grade, and its high school graduation rate (90%) ranks second highest in the country.

School funding backs that up. Around $29,789 is spent per K-12 student, the fourth most of any state. And teacher pay is $93,554 per year on average, the fourth highest nationally.

That strength doesn’t carry evenly into every category. Massachusetts ranks 27th for higher education, with a stark contrast between its four-year and two-year institutions: It has the best four-year public college graduation rate in the country (74.5%), but a two-year college graduation rate that ranks second to last (22.9%).

The state is working toward improving college access. In 2024, Massachusetts made tuition free for eligible residents at its 15 community colleges through a program called MassEducate. Although the state's community college tuition remains relatively high, eligible students can have their tuition and fees fully covered through the program.

2. New York

School funding is the biggest reason New York lands at No. 2 for public education. No state has a higher spend per K-12 student — New York’s average is $34,577. Teachers get paid well too, with an average salary of $98,655, the second highest nationally. Classrooms are small: There are about 11 students per teacher, one of the lowest ratios anywhere, which can mean more one-on-one time for public school attendees.

That level of investment doesn’t fully translate into top-tier K-12 academic outcomes, though. New York ranks 17th in that category, with a high school graduation rate of 87% and NAEP scores that land in the lower half of states.

New York fares better in other categories. The state ranks 12th for higher education and fifth for school safety, with one of the lowest rates of reported criminal offenses at colleges in the country.

In the 2025 to 2026 school year, New York introduced a “bell-to-bell” ban on smartphones and other internet-enabled devices in K-12 schools. Districts are now required to keep the devices out of reach from the first bell to the last, a policy Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office says is meant to cut down on classroom distractions.

3. Connecticut

Strong K-12 academic outcomes help Connecticut rank at No. 3. Students there have the highest average ACT score in the country at 27.1, and 89% of high schoolers graduate — one of the top rates nationally.

Funding follows a similar pattern. Spending per K-12 student sits at around $28,982, the fifth most in the country. Teacher pay is also an average of $89,593 annually, the fifth highest nationally.

Higher education is where the picture shifts. Connecticut ranks 19th in that category, held back by some of the priciest four-year in-state tuition in the country and comparatively low grant aid per student, even with high per-student funding at the college level.

In April 2026, Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order calling for a full review of how Connecticut funds its K-12 schools, saying the state’s current funding formula is outdated. A commission tied to the order is expected to deliver recommendations by January 2027.

4. New Jersey

Robust school funding and safety numbers put New Jersey at No. 4. Only two states have more funding per K-12 student — New Jersey’s average is $30,685 — and teachers here take home $84,974 a year on average.

School safety stands out even more. New Jersey has the lowest rate of reported criminal offenses at colleges in the nation, and one of the lowest rates of gun violence incidents at K-12 and college campuses.

K-12 academic outcomes are more of a mixed bag. New Jersey’s average fourth grade NAEP scores rank fourth in the country, and its eighth grade scores rank second. But its high school graduation rate (85%), as well as its relatively lower ACT and SAT scores, pull the state’s overall K-12 academic outcomes ranking down to 15th.

5. Washington

Washington ranks No. 5, but the factors bolstering its ascent slightly differ from the rest of the top five. Higher education is its most impressive category, ranking third in the nation, with the best two-year public college graduation rate in the country (69.2%).

Teacher quality is another strong point. No state has a higher share of National Board Certified teachers than Washington, at 11.8%. This credential is considered one of the profession's most respected voluntary certifications, and Washington offers annual bonuses to eligible teachers who earn it. Teacher pay is high there too, with an average salary of $96,589, the third highest nationally.

K-12 academic outcomes don’t match that strength, though. Washington ranks 22nd in that category, with a lower high school graduation rate (84%) and NAEP scores that fall near the middle of the pack.

School safety is Washington’s weak spot. The state ranks 35th, with a comparatively high rate of reported criminal offenses at colleges.

Which states rank poorly for public education?

Four of the five lowest-ranked states are in the West, with Louisiana as the only Southern state in the bottom five. Poor K-12 academic outcomes are the common thread pulling these states down, though the factors behind those numbers vary by state.

A weak overall ranking doesn’t mean a state is weak everywhere. New Mexico, for instance, ranks fifth in the country for higher education, and Idaho lands sixth for school safety — proof that real strengths can turn up even in a low-ranked state.

It's important to remember that statewide averages don't capture every local experience. A single school or district within any of these states could be far outperforming its statewide average.

1. Arizona

Arizona ranks last in public education, weighed down by the K-12 academic outcomes and school funding categories, which place 49th and 50th, respectively. The state has the lowest high school graduation rate in the nation, at just 77%. It also has the most crowded classrooms, averaging more than 22 students per teacher. And $13,718 is spent per K-12 student, among the lowest amounts nationally.

Not every category is this bleak, though. Arizona’s two-year college tuition is among the most affordable in the country, and its two-year public college graduation rate ranks in the top 15 nationally.

Arizona is also working to strengthen its teacher pipeline. In April 2026, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation expanding the Arizona Teachers Academy, which offers free college tuition to eligible students who commit to teaching in Arizona public schools. The new law doubles the amount of time community college students can receive tuition assistance, in the hopes of recruiting more future teachers.

2. Alaska

Alaska ranks second worst for public education largely because its K-12 academic outcomes score ranks dead last in the country. The state’s high school graduation rate (78%) and NAEP scores are both among the lowest nationally — even though $23,570 is spent per K-12 student, the 11th most in the nation.

Higher education presents its own contrast. Funding per college student is higher than in any other state, at $24,130. Yet it has the lowest four-year public college graduation rate in the country (31%) and the lowest college retention rate (72.3%). Two-year colleges buck that trend, however — the state’s graduation rate in that category ranks fourth in the nation.

3. Idaho

Idaho ranks third worst for public education, weighed down by its school funding and resources category, which ranks 48th nationally. And only $12,647 is spent per K-12 student — the second-lowest amount in the country.

That funding gap hasn’t dragged every metric down equally. Idaho’s fourth and eighth grade NAEP scores land in the top 20, even as its high school graduation rate (80%) ranks near the bottom.

Idaho performs well in school safety, ranking sixth nationally, with relatively low rates of both gun violence incidents at schools and reported criminal offenses at colleges.

4. Louisiana

Louisiana ranks fourth worst in public education, dropping six spots from last year, the steepest fall among the bottom five states. It performs poorly in a number of categories, including teacher pay: Louisiana’s average teacher salary ($56,785) is the third lowest in the country.

School safety is Louisiana’s weakest category, ranking 49th in the nation. The state has a comparatively high rate of gun violence incidents at K-12 and college campuses.

There’s a bright spot in higher education, though. Louisiana ranks ninth in the country for grant aid per college student, which can make college more affordable for state residents. However, its low college retention rate (76%) ties with Montana for the fifth lowest in the nation.

5. New Mexico

New Mexico ranks fifth worst for public education, dragged down mainly by its K-12 academic outcomes, which rank 48th nationally. The state has the lowest NAEP scores in the country for both fourth and eighth grade, along with the lowest average SAT score.

School safety is another weak category, ranking last in the nation. The state has the highest rate of gun violence incidents at K-12 schools and college campuses, at five per 100,000 students. Plus, it has the second-highest rate of reported criminal offenses at the state’s colleges.

New Mexico ranks much better in higher education — fifth in the nation. The state offers the most grant aid per college student in the country ($3,960), and some of the most affordable tuition nationally. College retention and graduation rates, however, are among the lowest in the country.

See how your state ranks in education

Wyoming and Wisconsin both broke into the top 10 this year, while Maryland and Pennsylvania fell out. The Northeast still holds the most spots in the top 10, with four states. Still, three of the top 10 (Wyoming, Washington and California) are on the opposite side of the nation, showing strong rankings can come from anywhere.

A few states saw big swings. Iowa, Hawaii and North Dakota each jumped 11 or more spots from last year. Kentucky fell 19 spots, the steepest decline of any state by far.

Explore the table below to see where your state landed.

Making sense of the data

Keep the following in mind as you comb through the data above:

Consider the context of a state’s cost of living when looking at teacher salaries

A high salary in one state might not stretch as far as a lower salary in another. California’s average teacher salary, $103,552, is the highest in the country. But that salary has to cover some of the priciest housing markets in the nation. Mississippi’s average, $54,975, is the lowest nationally. However, it also comes with a lower cost of living.

SAT and ACT scores don't tell the whole story

Some states require every high school student to take one of these tests. In others, only students who plan to apply to college take these tests. States with universal testing often show lower average scores because every student is included, not only those aiming for higher education.

No single number sums it all up

This analysis looks at the overall strength of a state’s public education system, not academic achievement by itself. A state can excel in one category and still come up short in another.

Those gaps rarely show up on their own, according to Royal. “When a school is struggling with chronic absenteeism, there’s often a family story behind it,” she explained. “When teacher vacancies rise, it affects instruction. When students don’t feel connected to school, achievement suffers. These issues build on one another.”

For a fuller picture of a state’s education system, consider K-12 outcomes, school funding, higher education and school safety together, rather than zeroing in on a single metric.

Tips for evaluating schools before moving

Education experts recommend prioritizing the following once you’ve narrowed down a state:

• Research the district. “The quality of schools can vary tremendously within a state, so parents need to take a deep dive into the specific district and schools their children would be attending,” said Laurie Kopp Weingarten, a certified educational planner and the president of One-Stop College Counseling, from Marlboro, New Jersey.
• Ask for the school’s profile. “It often provides valuable information about the curriculum, honors and AP/IB offerings, graduation requirements, college matriculation and the percentage of graduates who attend four-year colleges,” Kopp Weingarten continued.
• Check staff turnover. “High turnover can be a sign of issues that don’t show up in school rankings,” explained Lisa Lightner, a special education advocate and the founder of A Day in Our Shoes, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She recommended checking job postings for aides, bus drivers and cafeteria staff. These roles affect a child’s day-to-day experience too, even though they see higher turnover than administrative positions.

And remember: A ranking can’t account for everything a student experiences day to day. Treat ours as a starting point rather than a final answer — the right school for one family might not be the right one for the next.

Methodology

To determine the states with the best public education systems in the U.S., the ConsumerAffairs Research Team compared all 50 states across four categories: K-12 academic outcomes, school funding and resources, higher education and school safety.

Rather than measuring academic achievement alone, this analysis evaluates multiple aspects of public education, including student outcomes, college affordability and completion, school resources and school safety. Because this is a composite ranking, a state's overall position may differ from its ranking in any individual category.

The scores for each category were calculated using the following metrics:

K-12 academic outcomes (30 points)

• Public high school four-year graduation rate (2021 to 2022) (10 points)
• Average SAT score (2025) (5 points)
• Average ACT score (2025) (5 points)
• Average fourth-grade NAEP reading and math scores (2024) (5 points)
• Average eighth-grade NAEP reading and math scores (2024) (5 points)

Data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, College Board, ACT and the Nation's Report Card. Because newer national data wasn't available, we used the same high school graduation and NAEP data as last year's analysis. We substituted Wisevoter data for Oklahoma and New Mexico's graduation rates because comparable NCES data wasn't available.

School funding and resources (30 points)

• Expenditures per K-12 student (2024 to 2025) (9 points)
• K-12 student-to-teacher ratio (2024 to 2025) (9 points)
• Average public school teacher salary (2024 to 2025) (9 points)
• The percentage of educators with active National Board Certifications (2025) (3 points)

Data comes from the National Education Association, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Higher education (30 points)

• Four-year public college graduation rate within 150% of normal time (2018) (3 points)
• Two-year public college graduation rate within 150% of normal time (2021) (3 points)
• Retention rate at public colleges, four-year institutions or above (2024) (6 points)
• Average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges (2025) (3 points)
• Average in-district tuition and fees at two-year public colleges (2025) (3 points)
• State and local funding per full-time college student (2023 to 2024) (6 points)
• State grant aid per full-time undergraduate student (2023 to 2024) (6 points)

Data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, College Board, SHEEO (grant aid for Wyoming only) and the Education Data Initiative (two-year tuition for Alaska only). Because statewide two-year graduation data wasn't available for Delaware, we used Delaware Technical Community College's published graduation rate as a proxy.

School safety (10 points)

• Gun violence incidents at schools per 100,000 K-12 and college students (2025 to 2026) (5 points)
• Reported criminal offenses at colleges per 10,000 students (2024) (5 points)

Data comes from the Gun Violence Archive, the U.S. Department of Education's Campus Safety and Security database and U.S. Census Bureau enrollment data to calculate student populations.

Reference policy

We love it when people share our findings! If you do, please link back to our original article to credit our research.

Questions?

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact egomes@consumeraffairs.com.