The best school district in every state
School districts throughout the United States are working to determine how to safely reopen schools in the fall against a backdrop of surging COVID-19 cases in many regions. Districts are faced with decisions between offering a hybrid of in-person and online classes, online-only learning, or bringing students back for in-person classroom learning.
Between parental politics, after-school programs, and PTA meetings, navigating school districts can be hard—and choosing the district that is best for your child is even harder. Various districts prioritize funding for different programs, and some have more of a knack for hiring and retaining nurturing teachers. For some districts, it seems to be a numbers game without any thought regarding the learning environment. Other districts encourage kids to explore passions and make friends but are lagging academically. A top school district isn’t just one or the other; it’s a combination of the two.
With kids spending the majority of their waking hours in the classroom (or virtual classroom) and oftentimes participating in a variety of extracurricular activities, it’s vital for parents to be aware of the type of environment children will be in because of how it may affect them.
Stacker analyzed extensive data from Niche to calculate the best school district in every state. Niche rankings rely on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, SAT/ACT scores, college readiness, teacher quality, and graduation rates. Read on to see how your district stacks up.
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Alabama: Mountain Brook City Schools
- Location: Mountain Brook, AL
- Number of schools: 6
- Students: 4,363
- Reading proficient: 84%
- Math proficient: 89%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 14:1
- Average teacher salary: $65,452
Alaska: Skagway School District
- Location: Skagway, AK
- Number of schools: 1
- Students: 138
- Reading proficient: 87%
- Math proficient: 82%
- Graduation rate: data not available
- Student teacher ratio: 10:1
- Average teacher salary: data not available
Arizona: Catalina Foothills Unified School District
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Number of schools: 8
- Students: 5,292
- Reading proficient: 70%
- Math proficient: 69%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 20:1
- Average teacher salary: $45,311
Arkansas: Bentonville Public Schools
- Location: Bentonville, AR
- Number of schools: 21
- Students: 16,870
- Reading proficient: 64%
- Math proficient: 66%
- Graduation rate: 94%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $53,408
California: Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
- Location: Los Gatos, CA
- Number of schools: 2
- Students: 3,425
- Reading proficient: 84%
- Math proficient: 74%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 21:1
- Average teacher salary: $109,507
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Colorado: Cheyenne Mountain School District No. 12
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Number of schools: 11
- Students: 5,220
- Reading proficient: 69%
- Math proficient: 62%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $49,119
Connecticut: Westport School District
- Location: Westport, CT
- Number of schools: 8
- Students: 5,570
- Reading proficient: 85%
- Math proficient: 81%
- Graduation rate: 99%
- Student teacher ratio: 11:1
- Average teacher salary: $78,283
Delaware: Appoquinimink School District
- Location: Odessa, DE
- Number of schools: 16
- Students: 10,882
- Reading proficient: 68%
- Math proficient: 53%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $64,540
Florida: St. Johns County School District
- Location: St Augustine, FL
- Number of schools: 49
- Students: 40,189
- Reading proficient: 74%
- Math proficient: 79%
- Graduation rate: 93%
- Student teacher ratio: 14:1
- Average teacher salary: $40,715
Georgia: Buford City Schools
- Location: Buford, GA
- Number of schools: 4
- Students: 4,808
- Reading proficient: 65%
- Math proficient: 75%
- Graduation rate: 93%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $62,865
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Hawaii: Hawaii Department of Education
- Location: Honolulu, HI
- Number of schools: 292
- Students: 180,837
- Reading proficient: 54%
- Math proficient: 42%
- Graduation rate: 84%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $64,871
Idaho: McCall-Donnelly School District
- Location: Mccall, ID
- Number of schools: 5
- Students: 1,185
- Reading proficient: 76%
- Math proficient: 64%
- Graduation rate: 92%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $63,957
Illinois: Glenbrook High Schools District 225
- Location: Glenview, IL
- Number of schools: 4
- Students: 5,140
- Reading proficient: 70%
- Math proficient: 69%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 17:1
- Average teacher salary: $103,463
Indiana: West Lafayette Community School Corporation
- Location: West Lafayette, IN
- Number of schools: 3
- Students: 2,376
- Reading proficient: 84%
- Math proficient: 80%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 17:1
- Average teacher salary: data not available
Iowa: Pleasant Valley Community School District
- Location: Bettendorf, IA
- Number of schools: 7
- Students: 5,050
- Reading proficient: 90%
- Math proficient: 93%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 17:1
- Average teacher salary: $62,711
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Kansas: Blue Valley Unified School District (Overland Park)
- Location: Overland Park, KS
- Number of schools: 35
- Students: 22,717
- Reading proficient: 63%
- Math proficient: 57%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 14:1
- Average teacher salary: $52,026
Kentucky: Fort Thomas Independent Schools
- Location: Fort Thomas, KY
- Number of schools: 5
- Students: 3,128
- Reading proficient: 79%
- Math proficient: 76%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 18:1
- Average teacher salary: $61,062
Louisiana: Zachary Community Public Schools
- Location: Zachary, LA
- Number of schools: 7
- Students: 5,519
- Reading proficient: 84%
- Math proficient: 83%
- Graduation rate: 93%
- Student teacher ratio: 18:1
- Average teacher salary: $63,115
Maine: Yarmouth Schools
- Location: Yarmouth, ME
- Number of schools: 4
- Students: 1,629
- Reading proficient: 77%
- Math proficient: 70%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 14:1
- Average teacher salary: $76,051
Maryland: Howard County Public Schools
- Location: Ellicott City, MD
- Number of schools: 76
- Students: 56,784
- Reading proficient: 55%
- Math proficient: 59%
- Graduation rate: 92%
- Student teacher ratio: 13:1
- Average teacher salary: $75,357
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Massachusetts: Westford Public Schools
- Location: Westford, MA
- Number of schools: 10
- Students: 5,074
- Reading proficient: 78%
- Math proficient: 80%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $81,436
Michigan: Novi Community School District
- Location: Novi, MI
- Number of schools: 12
- Students: 6,594
- Reading proficient: 58%
- Math proficient: 65%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $64,153
Minnesota: Minnetonka Public School District
- Location: Minnetonka, MN
- Number of schools: 12
- Students: 10,853
- Reading proficient: 82%
- Math proficient: 81%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $70,887
Mississippi: Petal School District
- Location: Petal, MS
- Number of schools: 5
- Students: 4,068
- Reading proficient: 62%
- Math proficient: 74%
- Graduation rate: 88%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $45,799
Missouri: Kirkwood School District
- Location: Kirkwood, MO
- Number of schools: 9
- Students: 6,089
- Reading proficient: 74%
- Math proficient: 66%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $76,791
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Montana: Hobson Public Schools
- Location: Hobson, MT
- Number of schools: 3
- Students: 96
- Reading proficient: 65%
- Math proficient: 45%
- Graduation rate: data not available
- Student teacher ratio: 7:1
- Average teacher salary: $47,034
Nebraska: Elkhorn Public Schools
- Location: Elkhorn, NE
- Number of schools: 21
- Students: 9,347
- Reading proficient: 81%
- Math proficient: 82%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $52,076
Nevada: Douglas County School District
- Location: Minden, NV
- Number of schools: 15
- Students: 5,798
- Reading proficient: 54%
- Math proficient: 42%
- Graduation rate: 89%
- Student teacher ratio: 17:1
- Average teacher salary: $61,363
New Hampshire: SAU 70
- Location: Hanover, NH
- Number of schools: 2
- Students: 1,098
- Reading proficient: 85%
- Math proficient: 76%
- Graduation rate: 95%
- Student teacher ratio: 11:1
- Average teacher salary: $97,402
New Jersey: Princeton Public Schools
- Location: Princeton, NJ
- Number of schools: 6
- Students: 3,796
- Reading proficient: 78%
- Math proficient: 65%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 11:1
- Average teacher salary: $80,903
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New Mexico: Los Alamos Public Schools
- Location: Los Alamos, NM
- Number of schools: 8
- Students: 3,711
- Reading proficient: 57%
- Math proficient: 49%
- Graduation rate: 89%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $53,559
New York: Great Neck Public Schools
- Location: Great Neck, NY
- Number of schools: 10
- Students: 6,754
- Reading proficient: 82%
- Math proficient: 85%
- Graduation rate: 94%
- Student teacher ratio: 10:1
- Average teacher salary: $129,517
North Carolina: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
- Location: Chapel Hill, NC
- Number of schools: 20
- Students: 12,293
- Reading proficient: 67%
- Math proficient: 59%
- Graduation rate: 90%
- Student teacher ratio: 13:1
- Average teacher salary: $45,683
North Dakota: Fargo Public Schools
- Location: Fargo, ND
- Number of schools: 22
- Students: 11,456
- Reading proficient: 50%
- Math proficient: 49%
- Graduation rate: 84%
- Student teacher ratio: 13:1
- Average teacher salary: $79,813
Ohio: Solon City School District
- Location: Solon, OH
- Number of schools: 7
- Students: 4,528
- Reading proficient: 92%
- Math proficient: 95%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 18:1
- Average teacher salary: $94,073
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Oklahoma: Edmond Public Schools
- Location: Edmond, OK
- Number of schools: 26
- Students: 24,892
- Reading proficient: 55%
- Math proficient: 51%
- Graduation rate: 93%
- Student teacher ratio: 19:1
- Average teacher salary: $40,255
Oregon: Lake Oswego School District
- Location: Lake Oswego, OR
- Number of schools: 10
- Students: 7,078
- Reading proficient: 85%
- Math proficient: 75%
- Graduation rate: 93%
- Student teacher ratio: 20:1
- Average teacher salary: $63,837
Pennsylvania: Tredyffrin-Easttown School District
- Location: Wayne, PA
- Number of schools: 8
- Students: 6,900
- Reading proficient: 89%
- Math proficient: 75%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $89,683
Rhode Island: Barrington Public Schools
- Location: Barrington, RI
- Number of schools: 6
- Students: 3,362
- Reading proficient: 71%
- Math proficient: 63%
- Graduation rate: 97%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $87,640
South Carolina: Lexington-Richland School District No. 5
- Location: Irmo, SC
- Number of schools: 22
- Students: 17,224
- Reading proficient: 57%
- Math proficient: 55%
- Graduation rate: 91%
- Student teacher ratio: 13:1
- Average teacher salary: $58,860
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South Dakota: Brandon Valley School District
- Location: Brandon, SD
- Number of schools: 7
- Students: 4,092
- Reading proficient: 75%
- Math proficient: 68%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 18:1
- Average teacher salary: $49,540
Tennessee: Germantown
- Location: Germantown, TN
- Number of schools: 5
- Students: 6,113
- Reading proficient: 62%
- Math proficient: 63%
- Graduation rate: 94%
- Student teacher ratio: 18:1
- Average teacher salary: $57,478
Texas: Eanes Independent School District
- Location: Austin, TX
- Number of schools: 11
- Students: 8,061
- Reading proficient: 80%
- Math proficient: 81%
- Graduation rate: 98%
- Student teacher ratio: 14:1
- Average teacher salary: $51,587
Utah: Canyons School District
- Location: Sandy, UT
- Number of schools: 50
- Students: 34,520
- Reading proficient: 54%
- Math proficient: 55%
- Graduation rate: 86%
- Student teacher ratio: 23:1
- Average teacher salary: $69,320
Vermont: Champlain Valley School District
- Location: Shelburne, VT
- Number of schools: 5
- Students: 4,303
- Reading proficient: data not available
- Math proficient: data not available
- Graduation rate: data not available
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: data not available
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Virginia: Arlington Public Schools
- Location: Arlington, VA
- Number of schools: 39
- Students: 26,975
- Reading proficient: 84%
- Math proficient: 77%
- Graduation rate: 85%
- Student teacher ratio: 15:1
- Average teacher salary: $107,694
Washington: Mercer Island School District
- Location: Mercer Island, WA
- Number of schools: 6
- Students: 4,529
- Reading proficient: 87%
- Math proficient: 83%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 19:1
- Average teacher salary: $73,066
West Virginia: Ohio County Schools
- Location: Wheeling, WV
- Number of schools: 13
- Students: 5,278
- Reading proficient: 54%
- Math proficient: 44%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 13:1
- Average teacher salary: $53,054
Wisconsin: Elmbrook School District
- Location: Brookfield, WI
- Number of schools: 10
- Students: 7,239
- Reading proficient: 63%
- Math proficient: 68%
- Graduation rate: 96%
- Student teacher ratio: 16:1
- Average teacher salary: $80,756
Wyoming: Teton County School District No. 1
- Location: Jackson, WY
- Number of schools: 9
- Students: 2,862
- Reading proficient: 61%
- Math proficient: 55%
- Graduation rate: 87%
- Student teacher ratio: 12:1
- Average teacher salary: $80,810
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