With public education spending in the U.S. reaching over $16,000 per pupil each year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Best & Worst School Systems in 2024, as well as expert commentary, to help parents find the most worthwhile places to enroll their children.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from the pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores.
South Dakota ranked 22nd overall in the report.
| States with the Best School Systems | States with the Worst School Systems |
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. Nevada |
| 2. Connecticut | 43. Mississippi |
| 3. Maryland | 44. Alabama |
| 4. New Jersey | 45. Oregon |
| 5. Wisconsin | 46. West Virginia |
| 6. New Hampshire | 47. Louisiana |
| 7. Nebraska | 48. Alaska |
| 8. New York | 49. Arizona |
| 9. Virginia | 50. Oklahoma |
| 10. North Dakota | 51. New Mexico |
Best vs. Worst
- West Virginia has the lowest dropout rate, which is 2.7 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest.
- Vermont has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, which is 2.2 times lower than in Arizona, the highest.
- Delaware has the lowest share of high school students who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, which is 2.1 times lower than in Louisiana, the highest.
- The District of Columbia has the lowest share of high school students who were bullied online, which is three times lower than in New Hampshire, the highest.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335
