What does this students per teacher ranking show?

It orders states by Students per full-time teacher. It is a comparison of this one published measure, not an overall ranking of where to live.

Where do these figures come from?

NCES via Urban Institute supplies this measure. States without a comparable published value are shown as not ranked rather than estimated.

How should I use this ranking?

Use it to narrow a search, then open a state or county profile for the underlying figures, source dates and caveats. A statewide number may not describe every neighbourhood.

Rankings · Schools

The states with the smallest classes

Students per full-time teacher.

Enrollment divided by full-time-equivalent teachers, summed across the county's schools. A staffing measure, not a quality ranking — no free authoritative source publishes school quality by county. Where a state did not report teacher counts in the latest year — Tennessee reported none for 2024 after reporting them for 96% of its schools through 2023 — the ratio is taken from that state's most recent year with data, using that year's enrollment too so the figure measures one year rather than mixing two. School and student counts stay current.

How to read this ranking

District of Columbia has the lowest published students per teacher in this comparison, at 11.0. The next states shown are New Hampshire (11.4) and Maine (11.5).

The table orders 50 states by students per full-time teacher. It describes one published measure, not an overall judgment about where to live.

Use the result as a starting point, then compare the underlying source, dates, and local county figures before making a decision. Enrollment divided by full-time-equivalent teachers, summed across the county's schools. A staffing measure, not a quality ranking — no free authoritative source publishes school quality by county. Where a state did not report teacher counts in the latest year — Tennessee reported none for 2024 after reporting them for 96% of its schools through 2023 — the ratio is taken from that state's most recent year with data, using that year's enrollment too so the figure measures one year rather than mixing two. School and student counts stay current.

1District of Columbia11.0
2New Hampshire11.4
3Maine11.5
4Vermont11.5
5New York11.6
6North Dakota11.7
7New Jersey11.8
8Massachusetts12.0
9Connecticut12.3
10Wyoming12.5
11Arkansas12.6
12Missouri13.0
13Rhode Island13.0
14Pennsylvania13.5
15Kansas13.6
16West Virginia13.7
17Illinois13.8
18New Mexico13.8
19Louisiana13.9
20Wisconsin13.9
21Virginia14.0
22Nebraska14.1
23Hawaii14.2
24Montana14.2
25South Dakota14.2
26Mississippi14.3
27South Carolina14.3
28Georgia14.4
29Iowa14.4
30Maryland14.6
31Delaware14.8
32Texas15.1
33Indiana15.5
34Kentucky15.6
35Minnesota15.7
36Oklahoma16.3
37North Carolina16.4
38Colorado16.6
39Michigan16.9
40Alabama17.2
41Ohio17.3
42Arizona17.9
43Washington18.3
44Idaho18.4
45Oregon18.4
46Florida18.5
47Alaska19.2
48Nevada20.0
49California21.9
50Utah21.9

Not ranked, because this measure is not published for them: Tennessee.

Related schools rankings

Use this in a move shortlist

These guides combine this measure with other clearly named inputs; they are not overall state verdicts.

States to consider for families →

Frequently asked questions

What does this ranking show?: It orders states by Students per full-time teacher. It is one measure, not an overall verdict on where to live.
Where do the figures come from?: NCES via Urban Institute. States without a comparable published figure are listed as not ranked rather than estimated.
How should I use it?: Use it to narrow your search, then open a state or county profile for the source date, caveats and local context.

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Source: NCES via Urban Institute. · How this is built

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