In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.
| States with the Best Early Education Systems | States with the Worst Early Education Systems |
| 1. District of Columbia | 42. Idaho |
| 2. Nebraska | 43. New York |
| 3. Maryland | 44. New Hampshire |
| 4. West Virginia | 45. Pennsylvania |
| 5. Arkansas | 46. Minnesota |
| 6. Vermont | 47. Massachusetts |
| 7. Rhode Island | 48. Arizona |
| 8. Alabama | 49. North Dakota |
| 9. Kentucky | 50. Missouri |
| 10. Oregon | 51. Indiana |
Best vs. Worst
- 14 states, such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and South Carolina, have the highest share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program, 100 percent, which is 9.1 times higher than in Missouri, the state with the lowest at 11.00 percent.
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K Special Education and Head Start programs, 87.30 percent, which is 7.3 times higher than in Utah, the state with the lowest at 11.90 percent.
- Hawaii has the highest income requirement for state pre-K eligibility, $58,380, which is 6.9 times higher than in Minnesota, which has one of the lowest at $8,455.
- The District of Columbia has the highest total spending per child enrolled in preschool, $19,710, which is 37.1 times higher than in North Dakota, which has one of the lowest at $531.
- The District of Columbia, Maryland and New York have some of the lowest monthly child care co-payment fees (as share of family income), 1 percent, which is 17 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at 17 percent.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-and-worst-early-education-systems/62668/
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