State ranking · Updated October 2026

Best States for Schools (2026)

Ranked by Locustep’s education score, a directional read on K–12 school quality and access to higher education.

#1 is Massachusetts (10/10). Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia tie for last (2/10).

This is a Locustep score from 1 to 10: a directional composite for sorting states, not a single published statistic. To check a specific place, see the NCES Digest State Dashboard.

Rank	State	Locustep score
1	Massachusetts	10/10
2	Connecticut	9/10
3	Maryland	8/10
3	Minnesota	8/10
3	New Jersey	8/10
3	New York	8/10
7	Colorado	7/10
7	Delaware	7/10
7	Maine	7/10
7	New Hampshire	7/10
7	Rhode Island	7/10
7	Vermont	7/10
7	Wisconsin	7/10
14	California	6/10
14	Hawaii	6/10
14	Illinois	6/10
14	Iowa	6/10
14	Nebraska	6/10
14	Oregon	6/10
14	Pennsylvania	6/10
14	Utah	6/10
14	Virginia	6/10
14	Washington	6/10
24	Arizona	5/10
24	Florida	5/10
24	Georgia	5/10
24	Idaho	5/10
24	Indiana	5/10
24	Kansas	5/10
24	Michigan	5/10
24	North Carolina	5/10
24	North Dakota	5/10
24	Ohio	5/10
24	South Dakota	5/10
35	Alaska	4/10
35	Missouri	4/10
35	Montana	4/10
35	South Carolina	4/10
35	Texas	4/10
35	Wyoming	4/10
41	Alabama	3/10
41	Arkansas	3/10
41	Kentucky	3/10
41	Nevada	3/10
41	New Mexico	3/10
41	Oklahoma	3/10
41	Tennessee	3/10
48	Louisiana	2/10
48	Mississippi	2/10
48	West Virginia	2/10

Full ranking

More state rankings