The Best School District in Every State

The Cambridge School District, located just across the Charles River from Boston, ranks as the best school district in Massachusetts for a student’s likelihood of success. The district spends $29,962 per pupil annually and has a student-teacher ratio of 11-to-1. Meanwhile, across Massachusetts, average school spending totals $17,748 and there are 13 students for every teacher.

Children of parents with high educational attainment are more likely to succeed academically. Across the district, 79.0% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 42.9% of adults across Massachusetts.

With top marks in academics, college prep, and club and activities from school review website Niche, the Bloomfield Hills School District, located just northwest of downtown Detroit, ranks as the best school district in Michigan.

Students in the district have the advantage of smaller than average class sizes, with one teacher for every 14 students, compared to a statewide average student-teacher ratio of 18-to-1. Smaller classes are due in part to greater investment in education. In the Bloomfield Hills District, annual spending totals $18,614 per pupil, higher than the comparable per pupil spending of $12,756 across Michigan.

No Minnesota school district offers students a better chance for success than the Edina Public School District, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. School review website Niche gives the district the highest possible marks for teacher quality, academics, and college prep.

Conditions outside the classroom also offer advantages. For example, children of parents with high educational attainment are more likely to succeed academically, and in the Edina district, 73.2% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, well above the 35.4% share of adults in Minnesota who do.

Conditions in the Madison County School District — both in and out of the classroom — make it the best district in Mississippi. Children of parents with high educational attainment are more likely to succeed academically, and in the district, 54.9% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the largest share of any district in the state and more than double the 21.8% bachelor’s degree attainment across Mississippi.

On school review website Niche, the Madison County District gets high marks for teacher quality, college prep, academics, and resources and facilities.

The Clayton School District, located just west of downtown St. Louis, ranks as the best school district in Missouri. School district and community data website Niche give Clayton top marks for academics, teacher quality, college prep, and clubs and activities.

Students in the district have the advantage of smaller than average class sizes, with one teacher for every 11 students, compared to a statewide average student-to-teacher ratio of 13-to-1. The smaller class sizes are due in part to greater investment in education.Annual spending in the district totals $19,050 per pupil, higher than the per pupil spending of $11,200 across Missouri.