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

US states by pupil to teacher ratio, public schools

Arizona had the highest pupil to teacher ratio, public schools of 51 states in 2019, at 23.6 pupils per teacher. Vermont had the lowest, at 10.8 pupils per teacher. The median was 14.8 pupils per teacher and the figure for the United States was 15.9 pupils per teacher. Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

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Highest23.6Arizona
Lowest10.8Vermont
Median14.851 states
United States15.9History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 17.7 pupils per teacherAlaska: 17.6 pupils per teacherArizona: 23.6 pupils per teacherArkansas: 12.9 pupils per teacherCalifornia: 23 pupils per teacherColorado: 16.9 pupils per teacherConnecticut: 12.4 pupils per teacherDelaware: 14.4 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia: 12.1 pupils per teacherFlorida: 17.2 pupils per teacherGeorgia: 15 pupils per teacherHawaii: 14.8 pupils per teacherIdaho: 18.1 pupils per teacherIllinois: 14.6 pupils per teacherIndiana: 17 pupils per teacherIowa: 14.5 pupils per teacherKansas: 13.6 pupils per teacherKentucky: 16.4 pupils per teacherLouisiana: 18.4 pupils per teacherMaine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaryland: 14.8 pupils per teacherMassachusetts: 12.8 pupils per teacherMichigan: 17.6 pupils per teacherMinnesota: 16.1 pupils per teacherMississippi: 14.8 pupils per teacherMissouri: 13.2 pupils per teacherMontana: 14 pupils per teacherNebraska: 13.7 pupils per teacherNevada: 19.5 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Jersey: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Mexico: 15.2 pupils per teacherNew York: 12.4 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota: 12.5 pupils per teacherOhio: 15.9 pupils per teacherOklahoma: 16.2 pupils per teacherOregon: 20.2 pupils per teacherPennsylvania: 13.9 pupils per teacherRhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina: 14.7 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota: 14.1 pupils per teacherTennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTexas: 15.1 pupils per teacherUtah: 22.6 pupils per teacherVermont: 10.8 pupils per teacherVirginia: 14.9 pupils per teacherWashington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWest Virginia: 14 pupils per teacherWisconsin: 14.3 pupils per teacherWyoming: 12.8 pupils per teacher
  • Under 13
  • 13 to 14
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  • 16 to 18
  • 18 and over
pupils per teacher, 2019. 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, 2019

Arizona: 23.6 pupils per teacherArizona23.6California: 23 pupils per teacherCalifornia23Utah: 22.6 pupils per teacherUtah22.6Oregon: 20.2 pupils per teacherOregon20.2Nevada: 19.5 pupils per teacherNevada19.5Louisiana: 18.4 pupils per teacherLouisiana18.4Washington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWashington18.4Idaho: 18.1 pupils per teacherIdaho18.1Alabama: 17.7 pupils per teacherAlabama17.7Alaska: 17.6 pupils per teacherAlaska17.6Michigan: 17.6 pupils per teacherMichigan17.6Florida: 17.2 pupils per teacherFlorida17.2Indiana: 17 pupils per teacherIndiana17Colorado: 16.9 pupils per teacherColorado16.9Kentucky: 16.4 pupils per teacherKentucky16.4Oklahoma: 16.2 pupils per teacherOklahoma16.2Minnesota: 16.1 pupils per teacherMinnesota16.1Ohio: 15.9 pupils per teacherOhio15.9Tennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTennessee15.7North Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina15.5New Mexico: 15.2 pupils per teacherNew Mexico15.2Texas: 15.1 pupils per teacherTexas15.1Georgia: 15 pupils per teacherGeorgia15Virginia: 14.9 pupils per teacherVirginia14.9Hawaii: 14.8 pupils per teacherHawaii14.8Maryland: 14.8 pupils per teacherMaryland14.8Mississippi: 14.8 pupils per teacherMississippi14.8South Carolina: 14.7 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina14.7Illinois: 14.6 pupils per teacherIllinois14.6Iowa: 14.5 pupils per teacherIowa14.5Delaware: 14.4 pupils per teacherDelaware14.4Wisconsin: 14.3 pupils per teacherWisconsin14.3South Dakota: 14.1 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota14.1Montana: 14 pupils per teacherMontana14West Virginia: 14 pupils per teacherWest Virginia14Pennsylvania: 13.9 pupils per teacherPennsylvania13.9Nebraska: 13.7 pupils per teacherNebraska13.7Kansas: 13.6 pupils per teacherKansas13.6Rhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherRhode Island13.4Missouri: 13.2 pupils per teacherMissouri13.2Arkansas: 12.9 pupils per teacherArkansas12.9Wyoming: 12.8 pupils per teacherWyoming12.8Massachusetts: 12.8 pupils per teacherMassachusetts12.8North Dakota: 12.5 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota12.5New York: 12.4 pupils per teacherNew York12.4Connecticut: 12.4 pupils per teacherConnecticut12.4Maine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaine12.2District of Columbia: 12.1 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia12.1New Hampshire: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire12.1New Jersey: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Jersey12.1Vermont: 10.8 pupils per teacherVermont10.8Arizona: 23.6 pupils per teacherArizona23.6California: 23 pupils per teacherCalifornia23Utah: 22.6 pupils per teacherUtah22.6Oregon: 20.2 pupils per teacherOregon20.2Nevada: 19.5 pupils per teacherNevada19.5Louisiana: 18.4 pupils per teacherLouisiana18.4Washington: 18.4 pupils per teacherWashington18.4Idaho: 18.1 pupils per teacherIdaho18.1Alabama: 17.7 pupils per teacherAlabama17.7Alaska: 17.6 pupils per teacherAlaska17.6Michigan: 17.6 pupils per teacherMichigan17.6Florida: 17.2 pupils per teacherFlorida17.2Indiana: 17 pupils per teacherIndiana17Colorado: 16.9 pupils per teacherColorado16.9Kentucky: 16.4 pupils per teacherKentucky16.4Oklahoma: 16.2 pupils per teacherOklahoma16.2Minnesota: 16.1 pupils per teacherMinnesota16.1Ohio: 15.9 pupils per teacherOhio15.9Tennessee: 15.7 pupils per teacherTennessee15.7North Carolina: 15.5 pupils per teacherNorth Carolina15.5New Mexico: 15.2 pupils per teacherNew Mexico15.2Texas: 15.1 pupils per teacherTexas15.1Georgia: 15 pupils per teacherGeorgia15Virginia: 14.9 pupils per teacherVirginia14.9Hawaii: 14.8 pupils per teacherHawaii14.8Maryland: 14.8 pupils per teacherMaryland14.8Mississippi: 14.8 pupils per teacherMississippi14.8South Carolina: 14.7 pupils per teacherSouth Carolina14.7Illinois: 14.6 pupils per teacherIllinois14.6Iowa: 14.5 pupils per teacherIowa14.5Delaware: 14.4 pupils per teacherDelaware14.4Wisconsin: 14.3 pupils per teacherWisconsin14.3South Dakota: 14.1 pupils per teacherSouth Dakota14.1Montana: 14 pupils per teacherMontana14West Virginia: 14 pupils per teacherWest Virginia14Pennsylvania: 13.9 pupils per teacherPennsylvania13.9Nebraska: 13.7 pupils per teacherNebraska13.7Kansas: 13.6 pupils per teacherKansas13.6Rhode Island: 13.4 pupils per teacherRhode Island13.4Missouri: 13.2 pupils per teacherMissouri13.2Arkansas: 12.9 pupils per teacherArkansas12.9Wyoming: 12.8 pupils per teacherWyoming12.8Massachusetts: 12.8 pupils per teacherMassachusetts12.8North Dakota: 12.5 pupils per teacherNorth Dakota12.5New York: 12.4 pupils per teacherNew York12.4Connecticut: 12.4 pupils per teacherConnecticut12.4Maine: 12.2 pupils per teacherMaine12.2District of Columbia: 12.1 pupils per teacherDistrict of Columbia12.1New Hampshire: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Hampshire12.1New Jersey: 12.1 pupils per teacherNew Jersey12.1Vermont: 10.8 pupils per teacherVermont10.8
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

RankStates2019
pupils per teacher		Change on 2018
1Arizona23.6+0.1%
2California23-0.4%
3Utah22.6-0.5%
4Oregon20.2-0.1%
5Nevada19.5-8.1%
6Louisiana18.4+0.6%
7Washington18.4+1%
8Idaho18.1-2.5%
9Alabama17.7+0.8%
10Alaska17.6+3.1%
11Michigan17.6-0.3%
12Florida17.2-0.5%
13Indiana17-1.3%
14Colorado16.9-1.2%
15Kentucky16.4+1.1%
16Oklahoma16.2-1.3%
17Minnesota16.1+4.2%
18Ohio15.9-4.4%
19Tennessee15.7-0.3%
20North Carolina15.5-0%
21New Mexico15.2-3.9%
22Texas15.1-0.2%
23Georgia15-0.4%
24Virginia14.9+0.4%
25Hawaii14.8-0.8%
26Maryland14.8+0.1%
27Mississippi14.8+0.1%
28South Carolina14.7-0.8%
29Illinois14.6-2.3%
30Iowa14.5+0.1%
31Delaware14.4-0.2%
32Wisconsin14.3-1%
33South Dakota14.10%
34Montana14-0.2%
35West Virginia14-1.4%
36Pennsylvania13.9-0.7%
37Nebraska13.7+0.6%
38Kansas13.6+0.4%
39Rhode Island13.4+0.5%
40Missouri13.2-1.3%
41Arkansas12.9-1.3%
42Wyoming12.8-0.5%
43Massachusetts12.8-2%
44North Dakota12.5+4.1%
45New York12.4-2.7%
46Connecticut12.4+0.5%
47Maine12.2+1.3%
48District of Columbia12.1+0.2%
49New Hampshire12.1-1%
50New Jersey12.1+0.1%
51Vermont10.8+3%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_pupil_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/pupil-teacher-ratio-public-schools/us-states?period=2019.
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?

Arizona, with 23.6 pupils per teacher in 2019, according to National Center for Education Statistics.

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

Vermont, with 10.8 pupils per teacher in 2019.

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.

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