Utah dropped from second to fifth in a national ranking of the best states for teachers, and Davis School District's student-to-teacher ratio already tops the state average.

WalletHub's annual study, released Monday, Sept. 14, compared all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 24 metrics. Washington, New York, Virginia and Illinois now rank ahead of Utah. Data was collected as of Aug. 17.

The biggest driver of the slide: Utah fell from 11th to 18th in WalletHub's "Academic & Work Environment" category, which measures pupil-teacher ratios, per-student spending and teacher turnover.

Utah's weak spots

The study flagged two problems. Utah has the fourth-highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the country and the third-lowest public school spending per student.

Davis School District's numbers reflect that pattern. The district's student-to-teacher ratio is 24-to-1, above the statewide average of 22-to-1, according to 2022-2023 data from Public School Review. Davis spends $9,726 per student, lower than the state median of $10,829. That per-student spending has stayed relatively flat over four school years.

Statewide, Utah spends $11,342 per pupil annually, according to World Population Review. The national average is $17,619.

Davis School District serves 72,499 students across 96 schools, including fast-growing campuses in Farmington and smaller programs like Woods Cross High School.

What kept Utah in the top five

Utah held its overall ranking partly because the state offers teacher tenure after just three years. Teachers in Utah also report a higher-than-average sense of support from school administrators, ABC4 reported.

The state also slipped in WalletHub's "Opportunity & Competition" category, falling from first to sixth. That category, which carries more weight in the overall score, measures teacher salaries, enrollment growth and job protections.

Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, said the states that treat teachers best "compensate educators well, invest heavily in educational resources, pass laws that improve school-system quality, and provide supportive conditions that lead to low turnover."

Looking ahead

No public statement from Davis School District on the ranking appeared as of Monday, Sept. 14. The district's board of education posts meeting agendas at davis.k12.ut.us/board. Families seeking school-level data on class sizes or per-student spending can submit records requests to the district under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act.