# Pupil to teacher ratio, public schools

Students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in the fall divided by the full-time-equivalent number of public school teachers, from the NCES Digest of Education Statistics (Common Core of Data). The year is the fall of the school year (2022 means fall 2022, the 2022-23 school year).

## Key facts

- Pupil to teacher ratio, public schools in the United States was 15.4 pupils per teacher in 2022, according to National Center for Education Statistics.
- Arizona had the highest pupil to teacher ratio, public schools of 51 states in 2022, at 22.8 pupils per teacher, and Vermont the lowest, at 10.5 pupils per teacher. Source: National Center for Education Statistics.
- Published for 52 places, with figures from 2000 to 2022.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

- Indicator id: `pupil_teacher_ratio_public_k12`
- Unit: pupils per teacher
- Note: This is not class size: teachers include those who do not lead a regular class, such as special education and specialist teachers. NCES publishes it for selected years only (2000, 2012 and 2017 onwards).
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/pupil_teacher_ratio_public_k12

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | pupils per teacher | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| United States | 2022 | 15.4 | U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp. Retrieved 2026-10-12. |

## Rankings

- [US states](https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states.md) (51 places)