U.S. News and World Report ranks NJ K-12 education best in the country. See why

Yahoo

07-05-2025

New Jersey's K-12 education system is the best in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, which ranked it number one in its latest list.
U.S. News and World Report ranked the K-12 and higher education system in every state in the country based on a multitude of separate categories, and also gave each category its own ranking.
New Jersey ranked number one in the K-12 grades and 36th in higher education.
U.S. News and World Report took into consideration preschool enrollment, standardized test scores among eighth graders, high school graduation rates and college readiness when assembling its ranking.
New Jersey ranked first in college readiness and pre-school enrollment, second in NAEP reading scores, third in high school graduation rate and fifth in NAEP math scores.
The metrics used to score higher education rankings included education attainment, college graduation rates, cost of in-state tuition and fees and how many students carry the burden of federal student loan debt.
Massachusetts's K-12 education came in second, with its higher education ranked at 45, while Connecticut's K-12 came in third and its higher education at 48th place.
The top higher education ranking went to Florida, second to Wyoming and third to Washington.
Empty classroom with chairs and desks
The bottom-ranked states for their K-12 education programs were Oklahoma at 48th, Alaska at 49th and New Mexico last. The lowest ranked states for their higher education systems were Connecticut at 48th place, Louisiana at 49th and Pennsylvania at 50th.
Where did New Jersey rank in other categories?
Overall, U.S. News and World Report ranked New Jersey as the 19th best overall state in the country.
The Garden State ranked fifth in health care and 10th in crime and corrections. Some of New Jersey's other categories are listed as follows:
31st in economy
49th in fiscal stability
12th in infrastructure
28th in natural environment
45th in opportunity
U.S. News and World Report combined all of these categories to make its own list ranking each state for best overall. The top 10 states in order on the list include:
1- Utah
2- New Hampshire
3- Idaho
4 - Minnesota
5 - Nebraska
6 - Florida
7 - Vermont
8 - South Dakota
9 - Massachusetts
10 - Washington
19 - New Jersey
Across the eight categories, 71 metrics were used in the U.S. News and World Report state rankings. The Garden State is not perfect, but it is number one in the hearts of its residents.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: US News and World Report ranks NJ K-12 education best in country