California vs New York

Education Comparison

California

New York

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

Overview

Key differences

K-12 Education Rank

New York ranks #24 for K-12 education, higher than California at #32 (US News).

Student-Teacher Ratio

New York has a lower student-teacher ratio than California.

School Spending

New York spends more per pupil than California by $9,779.

Teacher Salary

California pays teachers a higher average salary than New York by $4,897.

Public School Ranking

New York ranks #1 for public schools, higher than California at #8.

Student Loan Debt

California has lower average student loan debt than New York by $451.

Metric	CA	NY	Deep dive
K-12 Education Rank US News Best States K-12 education sub-ranking (1 = best, 50 = worst).	#32	#24	Details ->
High School Graduation Rate 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for public high schools (NCES).	84.0%	84.0%	Details ->
Student-Teacher Ratio Average number of pupils per teacher in public K-12 schools (NCES).	22.2:1	12.5:1	Details ->
School Spending Per-pupil K-12 education spending (World Population Review 2025).	$20,233	$30,012	Details ->
Teacher Salary Average public school teacher salary, 2024-25 (NEA).	$103,552	$98,655	Details ->
Public School Ranking Public school system ranking, 1 = best.	#8	#1	Details ->
Student Loan Debt Average federal student loan debt per borrower.	$38,300	$38,751	Details ->
College Graduation Rate 4-year college graduation rate (%).	60.2%	56.8%	Details ->