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.

Compiled from official source data by .
49
National avg score
51
States ranked
38
States above average

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 Nevada 53
3 Maryland 52
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 Carolina 51
12 Vermont 51
13 Wyoming 51
14 Arkansas 50
15 California 50
16 Colorado 50
17 Connecticut 50
18 Georgia 50
19 Indiana 50
20 Iowa 50
21 Kansas 50
22 Kentucky 50
23 Louisiana 50
24 Maine 50
25 Michigan 50
26 Minnesota 50
27 Missouri 50
28 Nebraska 50
29 New Jersey 50
30 Oregon 50
31 South Dakota 50
32 Texas 50
33 Utah 50
34 Virginia 50
35 Washington 50
36 Wisconsin 50
37 Alaska 49
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.