The states where public school students get the most and least teacher attention, ranked

Vermont was ranked as having the lowest student-to-teacher ratio nationwide. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Business Insider ranked nationwide student-to-teacher ratios based on Department of Education data.

The 2022-2023 data shows Arizona had the highest ratio and Vermont had the lowest.

In the US, there are an average of 15.4 students per public school teacher.

How much individual attention a public school student receives from their teacher could depend, in part, on where they live.

Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, an agency within the Department of Education, Business Insider ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the number of students per public school teacher.

The data — which shows there are about 50 million students and 3.2 million teachers total in the US — covers students from pre-kindergarten to high school during the 2022-2023 school year.

Vermont, which has the fewest students overall and the third-fewest teachers behind Alaska and Wyoming, has the lowest ratio in the US, with an average of 10.5 students per teacher.

Washington, DC, with about 91,000 students and roughly the same number of teachers as Vermont, is second with a ratio of 11.3.

States such as Arizona, California, and Florida, all with seven-figure student populations , have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios, topping out at nearly 23 pupils per teacher. The nationwide average is 15.4.

A lower student-to-teacher ratio doesn't necessarily correspond with better educational outcomes. While Vermont public school students have the lowest student-to-teacher ratio, their high school graduation rates rank among the lowest in the nation.

Meanwhile, Alabama and Florida have among the highest student-to-teacher ratios but rank among the top 10 for graduation rates.

Still, Vermont ranked seventh in a July WalletHub ranking for the best school systems in the US, earning high marks for quality and safety. Utah and Florida ranked in the top 20. Washington, DC, which WalletHub said has the highest dropout rate in the US and the third-worst math test scores , ranked 30th.

See how the 50 states and the District of Columbia rank by student-to-teacher ratio.

51. Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona. Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 22.8

Number of schools: 2,429

Number of students: 1,132,223

Number of teachers: 49,566

50. Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 22.2

Number of schools: 1,102

Number of students: 691,906

Number of teachers: 31,164

49. California

San Diego, California. Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 21.9

Number of schools: 10,327

Number of students: 5,851,877

Number of teachers: 267,659

48. Nevada

Reno, Nevada. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 21.0

Number of schools: 748

Number of students: 484,192

Number of teachers: 23,076

46. Alaska (tie)

Anchorage, Alaska. Bloomberg/Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 18.3

Number of schools: 498

Number of students: 130,723

Number of teachers: 7,160

46. Florida (tie)

Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 18.3

Number of schools: 4,230

Number of students: 2,870,527

Number of teachers: 156,787

44. Alabama (tie)

: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 17.9

Number of schools: 1,516

Number of students: 750,923

Number of teachers: 42,022

44. Oregon (tie)

Portland, Oregon. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 17.9

Number of schools: 1,286

Number of students: 552,380

Number of teachers: 30,906

42. Idaho (tie)

Boise, Idaho. Joe Jaszewski for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 17.5

Number of schools: 795

Number of students: 317,555

Number of teachers: 18,121

42. Louisiana (tie)

New Orleans. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 17.5

Number of schools: 1,337

Number of students: 718,145

Number of teachers: 41,110

41. Washington

Seattle, Washington. CPI

Number of students per teacher: 17.2

Number of schools: 2,549

Number of students: 1,090,227

Number of teachers: 63,272

40. Michigan

Detroit, Michigan. Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 16.7

Number of schools: 3,510

Number of students: 1,433,914

Number of teachers: 85,880

39. Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. : Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 16.6

Number of schools: 1,781

Number of students: 701,301

Number of teachers: 42,124

38. Ohio

Columbus, Ohio. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 16.4

Number of schools: 3,632

Number of students: 1,680,639

Number of teachers: 102,323

37. Colorado

Denver, Colorado. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 16.3

Number of schools: 1,932

Number of students: 870,871

Number of teachers: 53,553

36. Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana. : Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 15.8

Number of schools: 1,921

Number of students: 1,036,108

Number of teachers: 65,597

35. Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Arthur Maiorella/Anadolu via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 15.5

Number of schools: 2,690

Number of students: 870,019

Number of teachers: 56,124

34. North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina. Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Number of students per teacher: 15.4

Number of schools: 2,716

Number of students: 1,541,722

Number of teachers: 99,980

32. Kentu...