To determine the best school district in every state, Niche graded them on academics, teachers, diversity, and health and safety.
There are nearly 100,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in the US. The best districts are coveted, and a high-caliber school system can be a key factor when a family decides to relocate to one city over another.
Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, provides a ranking of the best school districts in America — that is, the collective quality of all the schools in a district determined by a grade of overall experience.
The ranking includes key factors such as the strength of academics, health and safety, diversity, and the quality of teachers. Read more about the methodology here.
Business Insider searched the ranking to find the best in each state. Sufficient data wasn't available for Hawaii, so it does not appear on this list.
Below is the best school district in each US state.
ALABAMA: Mountain Brook City Schools
No. of schools: 6
No. of students: 4,461
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: D
Teachers: A+
ALASKA: Skagway City School District
No. of schools: 1
No. of students: 100
Academics: A-
Health & safety: A-
Diversity: C+
Teachers: B+
ARIZONA: Catalina Foothills Unified School District
No. of schools: 8
No. of students: 4,948
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B
Teachers: A-
ARKANSAS: Bentonville Public Schools
No. of schools: 18
No. of students: 15,497
Academics: A-
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B+
Teachers: B+
CALIFORNIA: Palo Alto Unified School District
No. of schools: 19
No. of students: 12,527
Academics: A+
Health & safety: C+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
COLORADO: Aspen School District
No. of schools: 5
No. of students: 1,756
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+
CONNECTICUT: Westport School District
No. of schools: 9
No. of students: 5,750
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+
DELAWARE: Appoquinimink School District
No. of schools: 16
No. of students: 9,877
Academics: B+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: B+
FLORIDA: St. Johns County School District
No. of schools: 51
No. of students: 35,268
Academics: A
Health & safety: B
Diversity: B
Teachers: B
GEORGIA: Buford City Schools
No. of schools: 4
No. of students: 4,173
Academics: A-
Health & safety: A+
Student culture & diversity: A
Teachers: A+
IDAHO: Boise Independent School District
No. of schools: 51
No. of students: 26,240
Academics: B
Health & safety: B+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A
ILLINOIS: New Trier Township High School District No. 203
No. of schools: 2
No. of students: 4,099
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+
INDIANA: West Lafayette Community School Corporation
No. of schools: 3
No. of students: 2,247
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Student culture & diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
IOWA: Ames Community School District
No. of schools: 8
No. of students: 4,373
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A
KANSAS: Blue Valley Unified School District (Overland Park)
No. of schools: 34
No. of students: 22,398
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
KENTUCKY: Fort Thomas Independent Schools
No. of schools: 5
No. of students: 3,053
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A+
LOUISIANA: Zachary Community Public Schools
No. of schools: 8
No. of students: 5,331
Academics: A
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A
Teachers: A+
MAINE: Cape Elizabeth School Department
No. of schools: 3
No. of students: 1,627
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A+
MARYLAND: Howard County Public Schools
No. of schools: 75
No. of students: 53,685
Academics: A
Health & safety: B
Diversity: A
Teachers: A
MASSACHUSETTS: Wellesley Public Schools
No. of schools: 9
No. of students: 5,067
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
MICHIGAN: Birmingham Public Schools
No. of schools: 13
No. of students: 8,182
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
MINNESOTA: Wayzata Public School District
No. of schools: 17
No. of students: 10,875
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B
Teachers: A+
MISSISSIPPI: Petal School District
No. of schools: 5
No. of students: 4,137
Academics: B+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
MISSOURI: School District of Clayton
No. of schools: 6
No. of students: 2,228
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B
Teachers: A+
MONTANA: Dutton/Brady Public Schools
No. of schools: 4
No. of students: 147
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A+
NEBRASKA: Elkhorn Public Schools
No. of schools: 18
No. of students: 7,553
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A+
NEVADA: Washoe County School District
No. of schools: 115
No. of students: 65,682
Academics: B
Health & safety: B+
Diversity: A
Teachers: A-
NEW HAMPSHIRE: SAU 70
No. of schools: 2
No. of students: 926
Academics: A+
Health & safety: B
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+
NEW JERSEY: Princeton Public Schools
No. of schools: 6
No. of students: 3,390
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B+
Teachers: A+
NEW MEXICO: Los Alamos Public Schools
No. of schools: 7
No. of students: 3,509
Academics: A-
Health & safety: B
Student culture & diversity: B
Teachers: B+
NEW YORK: Jericho Union Free School District
No. of schools: 5
No. of students: 2,960
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A-
Diversity: B
Teachers: A+
NORTH CAROLINA: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
No. of schools: 20
No. of students: 12,090
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A-
Diversity: A
Teachers: A
NORTH DAKOTA: Ashley Public Schools
No. of schools: 2
No. of students: 120
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A
OHIO: Solon City School District
No. of schools: 7
No. of students: 4,720
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
OKLAHOMA: Jenks Public Schools
No. of schools: 7
No. of students: 11,439
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A
Teachers: A
OREGON: Lake Oswego School District
No. of schools: 10
No. of students: 6,926
Academics: A
Health & safety: C+
Diversity: C+
Teachers: A+
PENNSYLVANIA: Tredyffrin-Easttown School District
No. of schools: 8
No. of students: 6,553
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
RHODE ISLAND: Barrington Public Schools
No. of schools: 6
No. of students: 3,288
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: C-
Teachers: A
SOUTH CAROLINA: Lexington-Richland School District No. 5
No. of schools: 22
No. of students: 16,738
Academics: A-
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A
Teachers: A+
SOUTH DAKOTA: Brandon Valley School District
No. of schools: 6
No. of students: 3,641
Academics: A-
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+
TENNESSEE: Greeneville City Schools
No. of schools: 7
No. of students: 2,826
Academics: A
Health & safety: A+
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
TEXAS: South Texas Independent School District
No. of schools: 8
No. of students: 3,376
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: A-
Teachers: A+
UTAH: Park City School District
No. of schools: 12
No. of students: 4,872
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
VERMONT: South Burlington School District
No. of schools: 5
No. of students: 2,429
Academics: A
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
VIRGINIA: Arlington County Public Schools
No. of schools: 39
No. of students: 24,559
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: A+
Teachers: A+
WASHINGTON: Bellevue School District
No. of schools: 31
No. of students: 19,456
Academics: A+
Health & safety: B
Diversity: A
Teachers: A
WEST VIRGINIA: Ohio County Schools
No. of schools: 13
No. of students: 5,453
Academics: B+
Health & safety: A-
Diversity: B
Teachers: A
WISCONSIN: School District of Whitefish Bay
No. of schools: 4
No. of students: 3,084
Academics: A+
Health & safety: A
Diversity: B-
Teachers: A+
WYOMING: Sheridan County School District No. 2
No. of schools: 10
No. of students: 3,390
Academics: A-
Health & safety: B+
Diversity: C
Teachers: A+