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Mass. has the best school systems in America, per WalletHub

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Education

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

Some Massachusetts school districts have been impacted by a national data breach.
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

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


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Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Karen Read murder case.

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