When it comes to public education, Massachusetts is tops.

The Bay State ranked No. 1 for the best public education in 2024, according to ConsumerAffairs’ Best States for Public Education in 2024 list.

ConsumerAffairs graded each state across five criteria, including K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher-education quality and safety. 

Massachusetts earned an education score of 70.2, the highest of the states on the list. 

New York ranked second, followed by New Jersey. Washington and Pennsylvania rounded out the top five. 

Massachusetts also took the No. 1 spot for K-12 performance, earning the highest scores in the country for fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math. It also had the highest high school graduation rate and tied with Connecticut for the highest ACT scores.

The Bay State also ranked No. 2 for school funding and resources. The state’s teachers have the third-highest salary in the country at $92,307 annually, which is 33% above the national average. Also included in the ranking was the fact that Massachusetts earmarks $25,826 in expenditures per each K-12 student, the fifth highest in the country.  

While Massachusetts topped the list, ConsumerAffairs’ report did find the state can improve on school safety. Massachusetts ranked 37th. The report revealed that there is no school safety board, and at the college level, criminal offenses are reported at a rate of 19 per 10,000 students. And when it comes to school gun violence, incidents are at a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 students, according to the report.