The states where public school students get the most and least teacher attention, ranked

Vermont was ranked as having the lowest student-to-teacher ratio nationwide. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images Business Insider ranked nationwide student-to-teacher ratios based on Department of Education data. The 2022-2023 data shows Arizona had the highest ratio and Vermont had the lowest. In the US, there are an average of 15.4 students per public school teacher. How much individual attention a public school student receives from their teacher could depend, in part, on where they live. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, an agency within the Department of Education, Business Insider ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the number of students per public school teacher. The data — which shows there are about 50 million students and 3.2 million teachers total in the US — covers students from pre-kindergarten to high school during the 2022-2023 school year. Vermont, which has the fewest students overall and the third-fewest teachers behind Alaska and Wyoming, has the lowest ratio in the US, with an average of 10.5 students per teacher. Washington, DC, with about 91,000 students and roughly the same number of teachers as Vermont, is second with a ratio of 11.3. States such as Arizona, California, and Florida, all with seven-figure student populations, have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios, topping out at nearly 23 pupils per teacher. The nationwide average is 15.4. A lower student-to-teacher ratio doesn't necessarily correspond with better educational outcomes. While Vermont public school students have the lowest student-to-teacher ratio, their high school graduation rates rank among the lowest in the nation. Meanwhile, Alabama and Florida have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios but rank among the top 10 for graduation rates. Still, Vermont ranked seventh in a July WalletHub ranking for the best school systems in the US, earning high marks for quality and safety. Utah and Florida ranked in the top 20. Washington, DC, which WalletHub said has the highest dropout rate in the US and the third-worst math test scores, ranked 30th. See how the 50 states and the District of Columbia rank by student-to-teacher ratio. 51. Arizona Phoenix, Arizona. Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 22.8 Number of schools: 2,429 Number of students: 1,132,223 Number of teachers: 49,566 50. Utah Salt Lake City, Utah. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 22.2 Number of schools: 1,102 Number of students: 691,906 Number of teachers: 31,164 49. California San Diego, California. Number of students per teacher: 21.9 Number of schools: 10,327 Number of students: 5,851,877 Number of teachers: 267,659 48. Nevada Reno, Nevada. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 21.0 Number of schools: 748 Number of students: 484,192 Number of teachers: 23,076 46. Alaska (tie) Anchorage, Alaska. Number of students per teacher: 18.3 Number of schools: 498 Number of students: 130,723 Number of teachers: 7,160 46. Florida (tie) Miami, Florida. Number of students per teacher: 18.3 Number of schools: 4,230 Number of students: 2,870,527 Number of teachers: 156,787 44. Alabama (tie) : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 17.9 Number of schools: 1,516 Number of students: 750,923 Number of teachers: 42,022 44. Oregon (tie) Portland, Oregon. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 17.9 Number of schools: 1,286 Number of students: 552,380 Number of teachers: 30,906 42. Idaho (tie) Boise, Idaho. Joe Jaszewski for The Washington Post via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 17.5 Number of schools: 795 Number of students: 317,555 Number of teachers: 18,121 42. Louisiana (tie) New Orleans. Number of students per teacher: 17.5 Number of schools: 1,337 Number of students: 718,145 Number of teachers: 41,110 41. Washington Seattle, Washington. CPI Number of students per teacher: 17.2 Number of schools: 2,549 Number of students: 1,090,227 Number of teachers: 63,272 40. Michigan Detroit, Michigan. Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 16.7 Number of schools: 3,510 Number of students: 1,433,914 Number of teachers: 85,880 39. Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. : Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 16.6 Number of schools: 1,781 Number of students: 701,301 Number of teachers: 42,124 38. Ohio Columbus, Ohio. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 16.4 Number of schools: 3,632 Number of students: 1,680,639 Number of teachers: 102,323 37. Colorado Denver, Colorado. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 16.3 Number of schools: 1,932 Number of students: 870,871 Number of teachers: 53,553 36. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 15.8 Number of schools: 1,921 Number of students: 1,036,108 Number of teachers: 65,597 35. Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota. Number of students per teacher: 15.5 Number of schools: 2,690 Number of students: 870,019 Number of teachers: 56,124 34. North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina. Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 15.4 Number of schools: 2,716 Number of students: 1,541,722 Number of teachers: 99,980 32. Kentucky (tie) Lexington, Kentucky. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 15.3 Number of schools: 1,542 Number of students: 660,029 Number of teachers: 43,023 32. Tennessee (tie) Nashville, Tennessee. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 15.3 Number of schools: 1,900 Number of students: 1,006,752 Number of teachers: 65,781 31. Texas Houston, Texas. Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.8 Number of schools: 9,180 Number of students: 5,519,599 Number of teachers: 373,332 30. New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.6 Number of schools: 890 Number of students: 315,023 Number of teachers: 21,572 29. Georgia Atlanta, Georgia. Prince Williams/WireImage Number of students per teacher: 14.4 Number of schools: 2,316 Number of students: 1,750,972 Number of teachers: 121,301 28. Maryland Baltimore, Maryland. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.3 Number of schools: 1,410 Number of students: 889,960 Number of teachers: 62,236 26. Delaware (tie) Wilmington, Delaware. : Matthew Lovette/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.2 Number of schools: 229 Number of students: 141,465 Number of teachers: 9,991 26. Hawaii (tie) Honolulu, Hawaii. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.2 Number of schools: 295 Number of students: 170,209 Number of teachers: 11,984 24. Iowa (tie) Des Moines, Iowa. Number of students per teacher: 14.1 Number of schools: 1,327 Number of students: 511,297 Number of teachers: 36,138 24. South Carolina (tie) Charleston, South Carolina. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 14.1 Number of schools: 1,264 Number of students: 789,231 Number of teachers: 55,947 22. Nebraska (tie) Omaha, Nebraska. Number of students per teacher: 13.8 Number of schools: 1,092 Number of students: 329,234 Number of teachers: 23,911 22. South Dakota (tie) Sioux Falls, South Dakota. : Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 13.8 Number of schools: 720 Number of students: 141,888 Number of teachers: 10,261 19. Illinois (tie) Chicago, Illinois. Number of students per teacher: 13.7 Number of schools: 4,408 Number of students: 1,852,242 Number of teachers: 135,363 19. Montana (tie) Butte, Montana. Number of students per teacher: 13.7 Number of schools: 826 Number of students: 150,733 Number of teachers: 11,036 19. Wisconsin (tie) Milwaukee, Wisconsin. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 13.7 Number of schools: 2,235 Number of students: 823,040 Number of teachers: 60,011 18. Virginia Virginia Beach, Virginia. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 13.6 Number of schools: 2,132 Number of students: 1,260,351 Number of teachers: 92,651 17. West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 13.5 Number of schools: 684 Number of students: 251,224 Number of teachers: 18,670 16. Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Number of students per teacher: 13.3 Number of schools: 2,936 Number of students: 1,693,347 Number of teachers: 127,037 15. Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi. Rory Doyle / AFP via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 13.0 Number of schools: 1,038 Number of students: 440,285 Number of teachers: 33,768 14. Kansas Wichita, Kansas. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 12.9 Number of schools: 1,355 Number of students: 487,978 Number of teachers: 37,885 13. Missouri St. Louis, Missouri. : Visions of America/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 12.8 Number of schools: 2,473 Number of students: 892,246 Number of teachers: 69,838 11. Arkansas (tie) Little Rock, Alabama. : Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 12.7 Number of schools: 1,098 Number of students: 493,130 Number of teachers: 38,815 11. Rhode Island (tie) Providence, Rhode Island. Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 12.7 Number of schools: 316 Number of students: 137,449 Number of teachers: 10,786 10. Wyoming Sinclair, Wyoming. : Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 12.6 Number of schools: 361 Number of students: 92,467 Number of teachers: 7,312 9. North Dakota Fargo, North Dakota. Number of students per teacher: 12.4 Number of schools: 511 Number of students: 118,513 Number of teachers: 9,581 8. Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts. Number of students per teacher: 12.0 Number of schools: 1,837 Number of students: 923,349 Number of teachers: 76,978 7. New Jersey Jersey City, New Jersey. Number of students per teacher: 11.8 Number of schools: 2,562 Number of students: 1,383,830 Number of teachers: 117,661 5. Connecticut (tie) Hartford, Connecticut. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 11.7 Number of schools: 1,013 Number of students: 513,513 Number of teachers: 44,007 5. New York (tie) New York City. Number of students per teacher: 11.7 Number of schools: 4,812 Number of students: 2,532,888 Number of teachers: 215,761 4. New Hampshire Manchester, New Hampshire. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 11.5 Number of schools: 502 Number of students: 168,909 Number of teachers: 14,731 3. Maine Portland, Maine. Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 11.4 Number of schools: 597 Number of students: 173,853 Number of teachers: 15,192 2. District of Columbia Washington, DC. Number of students per teacher: 11.3 Number of schools: 244 Number of students: 91,001 Number of teachers: 8,052 1. Vermont Woodstock, Vermont. : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Number of students per teacher: 10.5 Number of schools: 305 Number of students: 83,654 Number of teachers: 7,934 Read the original article on Business Insider

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