National ranking · NCES F-33
School Funding Equity by State
Average equity scores for 51 U.S. states, comparing how fairly each state distributes education funding across its districts.
- 49
- National avg score
- 51
- States ranked
- 38
- States above average
Hawaii leads US school-funding equity at 100/100
According to NCES finance and staffing fields joined into PlainSchools' equity index, Hawaii averages 100/100 across 1 ranked districts. 38 of 51 states sit above the national average. The score compares how evenly resources are distributed within each state, not overall spending levels.
- 100/100 Hawaii average
- A top state grade
- 51 states ranked
The ranking in one line
Hawaii distributes school funding most equitably, averaging 100/100 across 1 ranked districts.
- 100/100
- top state average (Hawaii)
- A
- top state grade
- 1
- high-equity districts in Hawaii
- 13
- states below the national average
State Equity Rankings
All 51 states, ranked by average district equity score (0-100). The shaded bar behind each score shows its magnitude; see our methodology.
| # | State | Avg Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 100 |
| 2 | Maryland | 53 |
| 3 | Nevada | 53 |
| 4 | Alabama | 51 |
| 5 | Florida | 51 |
| 6 | Mississippi | 51 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | 51 |
| 8 | New Mexico | 51 |
| 9 | North Dakota | 51 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 51 |
| 11 | South Dakota | 51 |
| 12 | Vermont | 51 |
| 13 | Wyoming | 51 |
| 14 | Alaska | 50 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 50 |
| 16 | California | 50 |
| 17 | Colorado | 50 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 50 |
| 19 | Georgia | 50 |
| 20 | Indiana | 50 |
| 21 | Iowa | 50 |
| 22 | Kansas | 50 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 50 |
| 24 | Louisiana | 50 |
| 25 | Maine | 50 |
| 26 | Michigan | 50 |
| 27 | Minnesota | 50 |
| 28 | Missouri | 50 |
| 29 | Nebraska | 50 |
| 30 | New Jersey | 50 |
| 31 | Oregon | 50 |
| 32 | South Carolina | 50 |
| 33 | Texas | 50 |
| 34 | Utah | 50 |
| 35 | Virginia | 50 |
| 36 | Washington | 50 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 50 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | 49 |
| 39 | Idaho | 48 |
| 40 | Ohio | 46 |
| 41 | New York | 45 |
| 42 | North Carolina | 45 |
| 43 | Delaware | 39 |
| 44 | Arizona | 38 |
| 45 | District of Columbia | 38 |
| 46 | Illinois | 38 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 38 |
| 48 | Montana | 38 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | 38 |
| 50 | Tennessee | 38 |
| 51 | West Virginia | 38 |
Understanding State Equity Grades
Each state's equity score is the average of all qualifying district scores within that state. Districts must have at least 200 students and reported spending data.
The grade scale reflects how equitably a state distributes resources:
- A (70+): Highly equitable, strong progressive funding
- B (60-69): Above average equity
- C (50-59): Average, room for improvement
- D (40-49): Below average, significant gaps
- F (<40): Poor equity, heavy reliance on local taxes
About the Equity Score
The equity score (0-100) evaluates funding fairness across four dimensions, each worth up to 25 points:
- Per-pupil spending - higher spending relative to peers
- Need-adjusted spending - spending weighted by poverty (rewards investing where need is greatest)
- Funding diversity - less reliance on local property taxes
- Resource access - lower student-teacher ratios
Data source: NCES Common Core of Data. See also: District-level equity rankings.
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.