Arizona vs California

Education Comparison

Arizona

California

How Arizona and California compare on education: k-12 education rank, high school graduation rate, student-teacher ratio, and more.

Overview

Key differences

K-12 Education Rank

California ranks #32 for K-12 education, higher than Arizona at #49 (US News).

High School Graduation Rate

California has a higher high school graduation rate than Arizona.

Student-Teacher Ratio

Arizona has a lower student-teacher ratio than California.

School Spending

California spends more per pupil than Arizona by $8,230.

Teacher Salary

California pays teachers a higher average salary than Arizona by $39,261.

Public School Ranking

California ranks #8 for public schools, higher than Arizona at #50.

Metric	AZ	CA	Deep dive
K-12 Education Rank US News Best States K-12 education sub-ranking (1 = best, 50 = worst).	#49	#32	Details ->
High School Graduation Rate 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for public high schools (NCES).	82.0%	84.0%	Details ->
Student-Teacher Ratio Average number of pupils per teacher in public K-12 schools (NCES).	20.4:1	22.2:1	Details ->
School Spending Per-pupil K-12 education spending (World Population Review 2025).	$12,003	$20,233	Details ->
Teacher Salary Average public school teacher salary, 2024-25 (NEA).	$64,291	$103,552	Details ->
Public School Ranking Public school system ranking, 1 = best.	#50	#8	Details ->
Student Loan Debt Average federal student loan debt per borrower.	$35,792	$38,300	Details ->
College Graduation Rate 4-year college graduation rate (%).	40.1%	60.2%	Details ->