Data / Rankings / Pupil to teacher ratio, public schools / US states

US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools

California had the highest pupil to teacher ratio, public schools of 51 states in 2017, at 23.2 pupils per teacher. Vermont had the lowest, at 10.6 pupils per teacher. The median was 15 pupils per teacher and the figure for the United States was 16 pupils per teacher. Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

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Highest23.2California
Lowest10.6Vermont
Median1551 states
United States16History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 17.8 pupils per teacherAlaska: 17.2 pupils per teacherArizona: 23.2 pupils per teacherArkansas: 13.9 pupils per teacherCalifornia: 23.2 pupils per teacherColorado: 17.4 pupils per teacherConnecticut: 11.8 pupils per teacherDelaware: 14.5 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia: 13.1 pupils per teacherFlorida: 15.2 pupils per teacherGeorgia: 15.2 pupils per teacherHawaii: 15 pupils per teacherIdaho: 18.2 pupils per teacherIllinois: 15.6 pupils per teacherIndiana: 17.3 pupils per teacherIowa: 14.4 pupils per teacherKansas: 13.7 pupils per teacherKentucky: 16.2 pupils per teacherLouisiana: 17.8 pupils per teacherMaine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaryland: 14.9 pupils per teacherMassachusetts: 13.1 pupils per teacherMichigan: 18 pupils per teacherMinnesota: 15.5 pupils per teacherMississippi: 15.1 pupils per teacherMissouri: 13.4 pupils per teacherMontana: 14.2 pupils per teacherNebraska: 13.6 pupils per teacherNevada: 20.5 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire: 12.3 pupils per teacherNew Jersey: 12.2 pupils per teacherNew Mexico: 15.9 pupils per teacherNew York: 12.8 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota: 12.1 pupils per teacherOhio: 17.2 pupils per teacherOklahoma: 16.7 pupils per teacherOregon: 20.3 pupils per teacherPennsylvania: 14.2 pupils per teacherRhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina: 14.8 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota: 14 pupils per teacherTennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTexas: 15.1 pupils per teacherUtah: 22.9 pupils per teacherVermont: 10.6 pupils per teacherVirginia: 15 pupils per teacherWashington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWest Virginia: 14.2 pupils per teacherWisconsin: 14.7 pupils per teacherWyoming: 12.9 pupils per teacher
  • Under 13
  • 13 to 14
  • 14 to 15
  • 15 to 16
  • 16 to 18
  • 18 and over
pupils per teacher, 2017. Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2017

California: 23.2 pupils per teacherCalifornia23.2Arizona: 23.2 pupils per teacherArizona23.2Utah: 22.9 pupils per teacherUtah22.9Nevada: 20.5 pupils per teacherNevada20.5Oregon: 20.3 pupils per teacherOregon20.3Washington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWashington18.4Idaho: 18.2 pupils per teacherIdaho18.2Michigan: 18 pupils per teacherMichigan18Alabama: 17.8 pupils per teacherAlabama17.8Louisiana: 17.8 pupils per teacherLouisiana17.8Colorado: 17.4 pupils per teacherColorado17.4Indiana: 17.3 pupils per teacherIndiana17.3Ohio: 17.2 pupils per teacherOhio17.2Alaska: 17.2 pupils per teacherAlaska17.2Oklahoma: 16.7 pupils per teacherOklahoma16.7Kentucky: 16.2 pupils per teacherKentucky16.2New Mexico: 15.9 pupils per teacherNew Mexico15.9Tennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTennessee15.7Illinois: 15.6 pupils per teacherIllinois15.6North Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina15.5Minnesota: 15.5 pupils per teacherMinnesota15.5Georgia: 15.2 pupils per teacherGeorgia15.2Florida: 15.2 pupils per teacherFlorida15.2Texas: 15.1 pupils per teacherTexas15.1Mississippi: 15.1 pupils per teacherMississippi15.1Virginia: 15 pupils per teacherVirginia15Hawaii: 15 pupils per teacherHawaii15Maryland: 14.9 pupils per teacherMaryland14.9South Carolina: 14.8 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina14.8Wisconsin: 14.7 pupils per teacherWisconsin14.7Delaware: 14.5 pupils per teacherDelaware14.5Iowa: 14.4 pupils per teacherIowa14.4Montana: 14.2 pupils per teacherMontana14.2Pennsylvania: 14.2 pupils per teacherPennsylvania14.2West Virginia: 14.2 pupils per teacherWest Virginia14.2South Dakota: 14 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota14Arkansas: 13.9 pupils per teacherArkansas13.9Kansas: 13.7 pupils per teacherKansas13.7Nebraska: 13.6 pupils per teacherNebraska13.6Rhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherRhode Island13.4Missouri: 13.4 pupils per teacherMissouri13.4Massachusetts: 13.1 pupils per teacherMassachusetts13.1District of Columbia: 13.1 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia13.1Wyoming: 12.9 pupils per teacherWyoming12.9New York: 12.8 pupils per teacherNew York12.8New Hampshire: 12.3 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire12.3Maine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaine12.2New Jersey: 12.2 pupils per teacherNew Jersey12.2North Dakota: 12.1 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota12.1Connecticut: 11.8 pupils per teacherConnecticut11.8Vermont: 10.6 pupils per teacherVermont10.6California: 23.2 pupils per teacherCalifornia23.2Arizona: 23.2 pupils per teacherArizona23.2Utah: 22.9 pupils per teacherUtah22.9Nevada: 20.5 pupils per teacherNevada20.5Oregon: 20.3 pupils per teacherOregon20.3Washington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWashington18.4Idaho: 18.2 pupils per teacherIdaho18.2Michigan: 18 pupils per teacherMichigan18Alabama: 17.8 pupils per teacherAlabama17.8Louisiana: 17.8 pupils per teacherLouisiana17.8Colorado: 17.4 pupils per teacherColorado17.4Indiana: 17.3 pupils per teacherIndiana17.3Ohio: 17.2 pupils per teacherOhio17.2Alaska: 17.2 pupils per teacherAlaska17.2Oklahoma: 16.7 pupils per teacherOklahoma16.7Kentucky: 16.2 pupils per teacherKentucky16.2New Mexico: 15.9 pupils per teacherNew Mexico15.9Tennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTennessee15.7Illinois: 15.6 pupils per teacherIllinois15.6North Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina15.5Minnesota: 15.5 pupils per teacherMinnesota15.5Georgia: 15.2 pupils per teacherGeorgia15.2Florida: 15.2 pupils per teacherFlorida15.2Texas: 15.1 pupils per teacherTexas15.1Mississippi: 15.1 pupils per teacherMississippi15.1Virginia: 15 pupils per teacherVirginia15Hawaii: 15 pupils per teacherHawaii15Maryland: 14.9 pupils per teacherMaryland14.9South Carolina: 14.8 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina14.8Wisconsin: 14.7 pupils per teacherWisconsin14.7Delaware: 14.5 pupils per teacherDelaware14.5Iowa: 14.4 pupils per teacherIowa14.4Montana: 14.2 pupils per teacherMontana14.2Pennsylvania: 14.2 pupils per teacherPennsylvania14.2West Virginia: 14.2 pupils per teacherWest Virginia14.2South Dakota: 14 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota14Arkansas: 13.9 pupils per teacherArkansas13.9Kansas: 13.7 pupils per teacherKansas13.7Nebraska: 13.6 pupils per teacherNebraska13.6Rhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherRhode Island13.4Missouri: 13.4 pupils per teacherMissouri13.4Massachusetts: 13.1 pupils per teacherMassachusetts13.1District of Columbia: 13.1 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia13.1Wyoming: 12.9 pupils per teacherWyoming12.9New York: 12.8 pupils per teacherNew York12.8New Hampshire: 12.3 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire12.3Maine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaine12.2New Jersey: 12.2 pupils per teacherNew Jersey12.2North Dakota: 12.1 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota12.1Connecticut: 11.8 pupils per teacherConnecticut11.8Vermont: 10.6 pupils per teacherVermont10.6
pupils per teacher. Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2017
pupils per teacher
1California23.2
2Arizona23.2
3Utah22.9
4Nevada20.5
5Oregon20.3
6Washington18.4
7Idaho18.2
8Michigan18
9Alabama17.8
10Louisiana17.8
11Colorado17.4
12Indiana17.3
13Ohio17.2
14Alaska17.2
15Oklahoma16.7
16Kentucky16.2
17New Mexico15.9
18Tennessee15.7
19Illinois15.6
20North Carolina15.5
21Minnesota15.5
22Georgia15.2
23Florida15.2
24Texas15.1
25Mississippi15.1
26Virginia15
27Hawaii15
28Maryland14.9
29South Carolina14.8
30Wisconsin14.7
31Delaware14.5
32Iowa14.4
33Montana14.2
34Pennsylvania14.2
35West Virginia14.2
36South Dakota14
37Arkansas13.9
38Kansas13.7
39Nebraska13.6
40Rhode Island13.4
41Missouri13.4
42Massachusetts13.1
43District of Columbia13.1
44Wyoming12.9
45New York12.8
46New Hampshire12.3
47Maine12.2
48New Jersey12.2
49North Dakota12.1
50Connecticut11.8
51Vermont10.6

Other periods

About this ranking

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).

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).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

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.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state (US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp

MLA 9

Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state, US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017. National Center for Education Statistics, 9 May 2024, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Center for Education Statistics. 2024. Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state. US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

National Center for Education Statistics (2024) Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state, US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_pupil_2017,
  author = {{National Center for Education Statistics}},
  title = {{Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state: US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - National Center for Education Statistics
TI  - Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state: US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools, 2017
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/05/09
PB  - National Center for Education Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_208.40.asp
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest pupil to teacher ratio, public schools?

California, with 23.2 pupils per teacher in 2017, according to National Center for Education Statistics.

Which state has the lowest pupil to teacher ratio, public schools?

Vermont, with 10.6 pupils per teacher in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 208.40: public elementary and secondary pupil/teacher ratios by state. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings