Students per School Counselor by State (CRDC 2021-22)
The typical US public school reports 381 students per counselor, 52% above the 250:1 maximum the American School Counselor Association recommends. PlainSchools ranks all 51 reporting state systems against that benchmark, drawn from the federal Civil Rights Data Collection.
Research period:
Key finding
The American School Counselor Association recommends a maximum of 250 students per school counselor. Across the 51 US state systems reporting counselor staffing to the federal Civil Rights Data Collection, 47 exceed that recommendation and only 4 meet it. The typical reporting school sits at 381 students per counselor, about 52% above the recommended maximum, computed across 69,613 schools.
The widest gap is in Utah (525 students per counselor) and the narrowest in Vermont (195), a 2.7× difference in counselor access between the most and least staffed state systems.
Research question
The American School Counselor Association recommends no more than 250 students per school counselor. Across the 51 US state systems reporting counselor staffing in the federal Civil Rights Data Collection, how many meet that benchmark, and how far above it does the typical school sit?
Methodology
For each reporting school, students per counselor is the school's total enrollment divided by its full-time-equivalent counselor count, as submitted to the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for 2021-22. State figures are the average across all reporting schools in the state; a state needs at least 30 reporting schools to be ranked, and records reporting an implausible ratio (below 50 or above 2,000, almost always a fractional-FTE artifact) are excluded so the averages reflect real staffing.
The 250:1 reference line is the maximum recommended by the American School Counselor Association. It is a professional recommendation, not a legal requirement; this analysis measures distance from that benchmark, not compliance with any statute. Figures are recomputed live from the database on every request, so nothing here is hand-entered.
See the methodology page for source vintage and full details.
States with the most students per counselor
Top 10 by students per counselor; every bar exceeds the ASCA-recommended 250:1 maximum (CRDC 2021-22)
All 51 state systems, ranked
Average students per counselor, worst to best, each measured against the ASCA-recommended 250:1 maximum. Every state links to its full profile; figures update with each CRDC release.
| # | State | Students per counselor | vs ASCA 250:1 | Schools reporting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 525 | +110% | 763 |
| 2 | Florida | 474 | +90% | 3,046 |
| 3 | Georgia | 459 | +84% | 2,183 |
| 4 | Nevada | 458 | +83% | 580 |
| 5 | California | 455 | +82% | 5,874 |
| 6 | Arizona | 451 | +80% | 1,075 |
| 7 | Alabama | 427 | +71% | 1,313 |
| 8 | Texas | 422 | +69% | 7,492 |
| 9 | Ohio | 417 | +67% | 2,582 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 401 | +60% | 998 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 398 | +59% | 1,562 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 397 | +59% | 1,127 |
| 13 | Indiana | 395 | +58% | 1,304 |
| 14 | Mississippi | 393 | +57% | 782 |
| 15 | Maryland | 390 | +56% | 1,278 |
| 16 | Michigan | 389 | +56% | 1,544 |
| 17 | Washington | 384 | +54% | 1,779 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 378 | +51% | 1,578 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 375 | +50% | 1,082 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 373 | +49% | 2,663 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 373 | +49% | 1,124 |
| 22 | Delaware | 366 | +46% | 194 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 364 | +46% | 2,503 |
| 24 | Alaska | 361 | +44% | 279 |
| 25 | Idaho | 358 | +43% | 555 |
| 26 | Arkansas | 357 | +43% | 994 |
| 27 | New Jersey | 352 | +41% | 2,107 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | 349 | +40% | 1,562 |
| 29 | Iowa | 347 | +39% | 1,030 |
| 30 | Colorado | 339 | +36% | 1,185 |
| 31 | Illinois | 338 | +35% | 1,882 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | 327 | +31% | 142 |
| 33 | New Mexico | 326 | +30% | 616 |
| 34 | Virginia | 325 | +30% | 1,806 |
| 35 | New York | 319 | +28% | 2,293 |
| 36 | Oregon | 319 | +28% | 901 |
| 37 | Kansas | 317 | +27% | 1,104 |
| 38 | Connecticut | 313 | +25% | 580 |
| 39 | District of Columbia | 310 | +24% | 136 |
| 40 | Nebraska | 310 | +24% | 853 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 307 | +23% | 602 |
| 42 | Missouri | 296 | +18% | 2,031 |
| 43 | Hawaii | 282 | +13% | 269 |
| 44 | Maine | 280 | +12% | 401 |
| 45 | South Dakota | 271 | +8% | 480 |
| 46 | Wyoming | 266 | +6% | 239 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 265 | +6% | 1,450 |
| 48 | Montana | 248 | meets (-1%) | 558 |
| 49 | North Dakota | 242 | meets (-3%) | 425 |
| 50 | New Hampshire | 220 | meets (-12%) | 442 |
| 51 | Vermont | 195 | meets (-22%) | 265 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), 2021-22. Counselor benchmark: American School Counselor Association recommended maximum of 250 students per counselor. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), 2021-22. Counselor benchmark: American School Counselor Association recommended maximum of 250 students per counselor.
What the data shows
The shortage is nearly universal
Of the 51 state systems with enough reporting schools to rank, 47 report an average above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 maximum. Only 4 meet it, led by Vermont at 195 students per counselor. The national average of 381 means the typical American public-school student shares a counselor with roughly 381 peers, well beyond the caseload the profession considers manageable for college, career, and mental-health support.
Access varies sharply by state
A student in Utah (525:1) has, on average, less than half the counselor access of a student in Vermont (195:1). Counselor staffing is set largely at the state and district level, so this gap reflects budget and policy choices rather than student need. The full ranking above lets you place any state in context; each state profile links onward to its schools.
Why counselor access matters
School counselors handle course planning, college and career advising, and a growing share of student mental-health support. Research consistently links lower student-to-counselor ratios to higher graduation and college-enrollment rates, which is why the ASCA benchmark exists. This page measures only staffing density, not the quality or focus of that support, so treat it as one input to understanding a school, alongside the enrollment, demographic, and program data on each school and state profile.
What this analysis cannot tell us
Counselor ratios measure staffing density, not counselor quality, caseload mix, or student need. The Civil Rights Data Collection counts full-time-equivalent counselors against total enrollment; schools that share a counselor across campuses, or staff part-time, report denser ratios than a head-count would suggest. State averages weight each reporting school equally and mask wide within-state variation between urban, suburban, and rural districts. Records reporting implausible ratios (below 50 or above 2,000 students per counselor, typically a fractional-FTE artifact) are excluded, and a state needs at least 30 reporting schools to be ranked. The 250:1 figure is the ASCA professional recommendation, not a federal mandate; falling above it is common and does not by itself indicate non-compliance with any law.
States with the most counselor access
The 10 states with the fewest students per counselor (CRDC 2021-22); lower is better
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), 2021-22: https://ocrdata.ed.gov/
- American School Counselor Association, Student-to-School-Counselor Ratios: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/
Cite this analysis
PlainSchools. (2026). Students per School Counselor by State (CRDC 2021-22). https://plainschools.com/research/students-per-counselor-by-state/