Massachusetts has the best public school system in the United States, while New Mexico ranks last, according to WalletHub's 2026 report comparing K-12 education across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The annual study evaluated school systems using 32 metrics measuring both educational quality and student safety.
The report places Connecticut second overall, followed by New Jersey, Virginia, and New Hampshire, giving the Northeast four of the nation's top five school systems. At the opposite end of the rankings, New Mexico was followed by Oklahoma, Alaska, Arizona, and Oregon as the five lowest-performing school systems.
