How far is your state from reaching racial equality in education?

There may be some surprises in the latest state-by-state rankings for racial equity in education. There’s a concentration of red states at the top of the 2022 list for most equality, with some traditionally blue states gathered at the bottom.

But before we get to the ranking, compiled by the financial website WalletHub, consider that as educators attempt to rebound from the pandemic, predominantly white districts are receiving $23 billion more per year in funding than systems where non-white children are the majority, according to the Education Trust’s EdBuild project. Property taxes generated by more affluent communities are one of the main drivers of the disparity.

Add to that a persistently segregated education system in which a large majority of students attend schools with students who share the same racial and socioeconomic background. This situation is being perpetuated as small, wealthy communities break away to form their own districts, concentrating financial resources and political clout, according to EdBuild.

Nearly 130 communities have attempted to form their own districts since 2000, and 73 have succeeded, EdBuild found. The upshot is that the average white school district enrolls just 1,500 students, which is half the size of the national average. In stark contrast, nonwhite districts serve more than 10,000 students.

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“If pre-COVID educational inequalities are an indication, we may be dealing with COVID-related educational inequalities for a substantial amount of time with lower-income students and students of color being affected the most,” Tiffany D. Joseph, an associate professor of sociology and international affairs at Northeastern University, told WalletHub.

To determine which states have the most racial equality in education, WalletHub compared the difference between the number of white and Black adults with high school and college degrees, and their test scores and graduation rates, among other metrics. For example, Texas, California, New Mexico, Wyoming and West Virginia are tied for the smallest gap between white and Black adults with high school degrees. Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Maine have the biggest divides.

Here’s where WalletHub ranked all 50 states for racial equality in education, from best to worst:

1. Wyoming
2. West Virginia
3. New Mexico
4. Idaho
5. Montana
6. Oklahoma
7. Texas
8. Arizona
9. Kentucky
10. Tennessee
11. Hawaii
12. Delaware
13. Arkansas
14. Maine
15. New Hampshire
16. Georgia
17. North Dakota
18. Vermont
19. Alabama
20. Mississippi
21. Nevada
22. Alaska
23. Washington
24. Oregon
25.  North Carolina
26. Indiana
27. Rhode Island
28. Florida
29. Missouri
30. California
31. South Dakota
32. Kansas
33. Maryland
34. Louisiana
35. Virginia
36. Michigan
37. Colorado
38. Ohio
39. Utah
40. Nebraska
41. New Jersey
42. Illinois
43. Iowa
44. Pennsylvania
45. South Carolina
46. Massachusetts
47. New York
48. Connecticut
49. Minnesota
50. Wisconsin