Education

Mass. has the best school systems in America, according to WalletHub study

The Bay State scored top marks in a new ranking of the best and worst public school systems in the U.S.

Massachusetts has the best public school systems in the U.S., according to a new WalletHub ranking. David L Ryan/Boston Globe Staff, File

By Abby Patkin

July 22, 2025

1 minute to read

Massachusetts defended its “wicked smaht” title this week, taking top billing in a new ranking of the best and worst public school systems in the U.S.

WalletHub gave the Bay State top marks on its 2025 list and explained, “Massachusetts is the state with the best school systems, boasting some of the best test scores in the country.”

Released Monday, the analysis takes into consideration performance, funding, safety, class size, and instructor credentials, according to WalletHub. And Massachusetts wasn’t the only New England state to come out on top: Connecticut took home second place, while New Hampshire ranked fifth. Rhode Island came in seventh, with Maine and Vermont rounding out the New England contingent at 14th and 19th, respectively.

Per the report, Massachusetts ranked first in the U.S. in all core academic subjects this year and had the highest share of students who received a score of at least 3 out of 5 on an Advanced Placement exam.

“In addition, schools in Massachusetts are generally safe,” WalletHub noted. “Massachusetts has the fifth-lowest share of students who report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, the third-lowest share who have been in a physical fight at school and the fourth-lowest share who report illegal drugs being available to them on school property.”

But for all its public school glory, Massachusetts saw more lackluster results in WalletHub’s ranking of the best states for teachers (14th place) and early education systems (48th place).

See the full rankings of best and worst school systems below:

Overall rank	State	Total score	Quality rank	Safety rank
1	Massachusetts	74.34	1	2
2	Connecticut	67.47	2	6
3	New Jersey	63.81	3	21
4	Virginia	61.32	6	5
5	New Hampshire	60.80	4	15
6	Wisconsin	59.71	5	17
7	Rhode Island	59.07	8	8
8	Indiana	58.68	9	12
9	Maryland	58.54	16	4
10	New York	57.51	7	20
11	Utah	56.83	12	16
12	Delaware	56.59	30	1
13	Nebraska	56.48	17	10
14	Maine	56.41	26	3
15	Illinois	56.29	10	27
16	North Dakota	56.23	11	26
17	Kentucky	55.78	20	11
18	Montana	55.09	13	29
19	Vermont	54.45	25	13
20	Washington	54.16	24	7
21	Florida	53.96	27	9
22	Pennsylvania	53.84	18	28
23	Iowa	53.83	22	22
24	District of Columbia	53.68	21	24
25	Wyoming	53.67	19	30
26	Tennessee	53.23	14	45
27	Minnesota	52.77	23	32
28	Colorado	51.86	15	46
29	South Dakota	51.72	28	23
30	California	50.46	29	37
31	North Carolina	50.07	35	14
32	Texas	49.85	32	18
33	Kansas	47.26	31	47
34	Arkansas	47.26	36	38
35	Ohio	47.17	37	33
36	Idaho	47.06	34	42
37	Michigan	46.94	40	25
38	Georgia	46.05	38	41
38	Missouri	45.76	33	51
40	Mississippi	44.12	39	50
41	South Carolina	43.92	43	31
42	Hawaii	43.84	41	40
43	Alabama	42.92	44	35
44	Louisiana	41.89	42	48
45	West Virginia	39.93	48	19
46	Nevada	39.50	45	49
47	Oregon	38.16	46	43
48	Arizona	37.70	47	44
49	Alaska	35.88	49	36
50	Oklahoma	32.62	50	34
51	New Mexico	30.37	51	39