How much individual attention a public school student receives from their teacher could depend, in part, on where they live.
Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, an agency within the Department of Education, Business Insider ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the number of students per public school teacher.
The data — which shows there are about 50 million students and 3.2 million teachers total in the US — covers students from pre-kindergarten to high school during the 2022-2023 school year.
Vermont, which has the fewest students overall and the third-fewest teachers behind Alaska and Wyoming, has the lowest ratio in the US, with an average of 10.5 students per teacher.
Washington, DC, with about 91,000 students and roughly the same number of teachers as Vermont, is second with a ratio of 11.3.
States such as Arizona, California, and Florida, all with seven-figure student populations, have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios, topping out at nearly 23 pupils per teacher. The nationwide average is 15.4.
A lower student-to-teacher ratio doesn't necessarily correspond with better educational outcomes. While Vermont public school students have the lowest student-to-teacher ratio, their high school graduation rates rank among the lowest in the nation.
Meanwhile, Alabama and Florida have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios but rank among the top 10 for graduation rates.
Still, Vermont ranked seventh in a July WalletHub ranking for the best school systems in the US, earning high marks for quality and safety. Utah and Florida ranked in the top 20. Washington, DC, which WalletHub said has the highest dropout rate in the US and the third-worst math test scores, ranked 30th.
See how the 50 states and the District of Columbia rank by student-to-teacher ratio.
51. Arizona
Number of students per teacher: 22.8
Number of schools: 2,429
Number of students: 1,132,223
Number of teachers: 49,566
50. Utah
Number of students per teacher: 22.2
Number of schools: 1,102
Number of students: 691,906
Number of teachers: 31,164
49. California
Number of students per teacher: 21.9
Number of schools: 10,327
Number of students: 5,851,877
Number of teachers: 267,659
48. Nevada
Number of students per teacher: 21.0
Number of schools: 748
Number of students: 484,192
Number of teachers: 23,076
46. Alaska (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 18.3
Number of schools: 498
Number of students: 130,723
Number of teachers: 7,160
46. Florida (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 18.3
Number of schools: 4,230
Number of students: 2,870,527
Number of teachers: 156,787
44. Alabama (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 17.9
Number of schools: 1,516
Number of students: 750,923
Number of teachers: 42,022
44. Oregon (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 17.9
Number of schools: 1,286
Number of students: 552,380
Number of teachers: 30,906
42. Idaho (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 17.5
Number of schools: 795
Number of students: 317,555
Number of teachers: 18,121
42. Louisiana (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 17.5
Number of schools: 1,337
Number of students: 718,145
Number of teachers: 41,110
41. Washington
Number of students per teacher: 17.2
Number of schools: 2,549
Number of students: 1,090,227
Number of teachers: 63,272
40. Michigan
Number of students per teacher: 16.7
Number of schools: 3,510
Number of students: 1,433,914
Number of teachers: 85,880
39. Oklahoma
Number of students per teacher: 16.6
Number of schools: 1,781
Number of students: 701,301
Number of teachers: 42,124
38. Ohio
Number of students per teacher: 16.4
Number of schools: 3,632
Number of students: 1,680,639
Number of teachers: 102,323
37. Colorado
Number of students per teacher: 16.3
Number of schools: 1,932
Number of students: 870,871
Number of teachers: 53,553
36. Indiana
Number of students per teacher: 15.8
Number of schools: 1,921
Number of students: 1,036,108
Number of teachers: 65,597
35. Minnesota
Number of students per teacher: 15.5
Number of schools: 2,690
Number of students: 870,019
Number of teachers: 56,124
34. North Carolina
Number of students per teacher: 15.4
Number of schools: 2,716
Number of students: 1,541,722
Number of teachers: 99,980
32. Kentucky (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 15.3
Number of schools: 1,542
Number of students: 660,029
Number of teachers: 43,023
32. Tennessee (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 15.3
Number of schools: 1,900
Number of students: 1,006,752
Number of teachers: 65,781
31. Texas
Number of students per teacher: 14.8
Number of schools: 9,180
Number of students: 5,519,599
Number of teachers: 373,332
30. New Mexico
Number of students per teacher: 14.6
Number of schools: 890
Number of students: 315,023
Number of teachers: 21,572
29. Georgia
Number of students per teacher: 14.4
Number of schools: 2,316
Number of students: 1,750,972
Number of teachers: 121,301
28. Maryland
Number of students per teacher: 14.3
Number of schools: 1,410
Number of students: 889,960
Number of teachers: 62,236
26. Delaware (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 14.2
Number of schools: 229
Number of students: 141,465
Number of teachers: 9,991
26. Hawaii (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 14.2
Number of schools: 295
Number of students: 170,209
Number of teachers: 11,984
24. Iowa (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 14.1
Number of schools: 1,327
Number of students: 511,297
Number of teachers: 36,138
24. South Carolina (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 14.1
Number of schools: 1,264
Number of students: 789,231
Number of teachers: 55,947
22. Nebraska (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 13.8
Number of schools: 1,092
Number of students: 329,234
Number of teachers: 23,911
22. South Dakota (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 13.8
Number of schools: 720
Number of students: 141,888
Number of teachers: 10,261
19. Illinois (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 13.7
Number of schools: 4,408
Number of students: 1,852,242
Number of teachers: 135,363
19. Montana (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 13.7
Number of schools: 826
Number of students: 150,733
Number of teachers: 11,036
19. Wisconsin (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 13.7
Number of schools: 2,235
Number of students: 823,040
Number of teachers: 60,011
18. Virginia
Number of students per teacher: 13.6
Number of schools: 2,132
Number of students: 1,260,351
Number of teachers: 92,651
17. West Virginia
Number of students per teacher: 13.5
Number of schools: 684
Number of students: 251,224
Number of teachers: 18,670
16. Pennsylvania
Number of students per teacher: 13.3
Number of schools: 2,936
Number of students: 1,693,347
Number of teachers: 127,037
15. Mississippi
Number of students per teacher: 13.0
Number of schools: 1,038
Number of students: 440,285
Number of teachers: 33,768
14. Kansas
Number of students per teacher: 12.9
Number of schools: 1,355
Number of students: 487,978
Number of teachers: 37,885
13. Missouri
Number of students per teacher: 12.8
Number of schools: 2,473
Number of students: 892,246
Number of teachers: 69,838
11. Arkansas (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 12.7
Number of schools: 1,098
Number of students: 493,130
Number of teachers: 38,815
11. Rhode Island (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 12.7
Number of schools: 316
Number of students: 137,449
Number of teachers: 10,786
10. Wyoming
Number of students per teacher: 12.6
Number of schools: 361
Number of students: 92,467
Number of teachers: 7,312
9. North Dakota
Number of students per teacher: 12.4
Number of schools: 511
Number of students: 118,513
Number of teachers: 9,581
8. Massachusetts
Number of students per teacher: 12.0
Number of schools: 1,837
Number of students: 923,349
Number of teachers: 76,978
7. New Jersey
Number of students per teacher: 11.8
Number of schools: 2,562
Number of students: 1,383,830
Number of teachers: 117,661
5. Connecticut (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 11.7
Number of schools: 1,013
Number of students: 513,513
Number of teachers: 44,007
5. New York (tie)
Number of students per teacher: 11.7
Number of schools: 4,812
Number of students: 2,532,888
Number of teachers: 215,761
4. New Hampshire
Number of students per teacher: 11.5
Number of schools: 502
Number of students: 168,909
Number of teachers: 14,731
3. Maine
Number of students per teacher: 11.4
Number of schools: 597
Number of students: 173,853
Number of teachers: 15,192
2. District of Columbia
Number of students per teacher: 11.3
Number of schools: 244
Number of students: 91,001
Number of teachers: 8,052
1. Vermont
Number of students per teacher: 10.5
Number of schools: 305
Number of students: 83,654
Number of teachers: 7,934
