Smallest Student-to-Teacher Ratios

Cities where public schools carry the fewest students per teacher

Staffing levels in public schools, from the federal school directory. Unlike proficiency, this figure means the same thing in every state.

50 locations · Calculated September 26, 2026 · Data reflects 2024-25 school year · Download CSV

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Narrow to one state

50 places, ranked nationally.

#	City	Value	State	Math proficiency %	Public schools count
1	East Patchogue, NY	8.0	NY	23.8%	9
2	Binghamton, NY	8.3	NY	44.5%	11
3	Arecibo, PR	8.5	PR	48.7%	11
4	Bayamón, PR	9.2	PR	22.9%	41
5	Caguas, PR	9.2	PR	28.8%	31
6	Lakewood, NJ	9.2	NJ	20.2%	9
7	San Juan, PR	9.4	PR	29.2%	55
8	Mayagüez, PR	9.4	PR	27.7%	16
9	Carolina, PR	9.8	PR	29.5%	20
10	Cambridge, MA	9.9	MA	55.5%	25
11	Paramus, NJ	10.0	NJ	60.4%	19
12	Sterling, VA	10.0	VA	73.6%	12
13	Fajardo, PR	10.1	PR	37.2%	10
14	Waltham, MA	10.2	MA	49.1%	11
15	Des Plaines, IL	10.2	IL	40.8%	10
16	Lexington, MA	10.2	MA	83.7%	11
17	Jamestown, NY	10.3	NY	51.8%	12
18	Garden City, NY	10.3	NY	87.0%	9
19	South Portland, ME	10.4	ME	53.7%	11
20	Atlantic City, NJ	10.4	NJ	20.3%	12
21	Vega Baja, PR	10.4	PR	29.1%	11
22	Pittsfield, MA	10.5	MA	30.8%	14
23	Smithtown, NY	10.5	NY	74.7%	8
24	Troy, NY	10.5	NY	54.1%	17
25	Barnstable Town, MA	10.6	MA	53.8%	10
26	Wellesley, MA	10.6	MA	80.2%	9
27	Parsippany, NJ	10.6	NJ	65.2%	8
28	Long Branch, NJ	10.7	NJ	25.8%	9
29	Newton, MA	10.7	MA	76.3%	22
30	Northampton, MA	10.7	MA	51.9%	12
31	Tonawanda Town, NY	10.8	NY	58.8%	13
32	Buffalo, NY	10.8	NY	47.3%	84
33	Milford, CT	10.8	CT	51.2%	14
34	New London, CT	10.8	CT	22.4%	10
35	Morristown, NJ	10.9	NJ	44.5%	10
36	New Brunswick, NJ	10.9	NJ	18.8%	13
37	Grand Forks, ND	10.9	ND	42.2%	17
38	Chicopee, MA	10.9	MA	44.4%	16
39	Cheektowaga, NY	10.9	NY	58.9%	12
40	Washington, DC	11.0	DC	31.9%	241
41	Burlington, MA	11.0	MA	67.5%	10
42	Evanston, IL	11.0	IL	47.9%	18
43	La Crosse, WI	11.0	WI	35.2%	18
44	South Valley, NM	11.0	NM	7.8%	23
45	Lindenhurst, NY	11.0	NY	69.1%	8
46	Boston, MA	11.0	MA	39.0%	127
47	Vernon Hills, IL	11.1	IL	58.7%	15
48	Bay Shore, NY	11.1	NY	48.5%	12
49	Dix Hills, NY	11.1	NY	76.7%	18
50	Middletown, NY	11.1	NY	58.4%	10

Methodology

Total enrollment divided by full-time-equivalent teachers, across the public schools whose address falls in the city, from the current federal school directory. This is a staffing ratio, not an average class size: it counts every teacher on the payroll against every enrolled student, so real classrooms are usually larger than the number shown.

What is excluded, and why

Cities under 20,000 residents, cities where fewer than eight schools went into the ratio, and fully virtual schools, whose staffing is not comparable to a building. The floor is on the schools actually behind the figure rather than on the total in the city, because a ratio drawn from four buildings is not the same measurement as one drawn from four hundred. A low ratio is not by itself evidence of better teaching.

The top 50 of the 1,682 cities that meet these criteria are listed.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics — Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments (CCD 2024 directory, EDFacts 2018-19 school-year assessments)

Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page, and how rankings like this one are built and reviewed is on the editorial policy page.