This table compares California with the U.S. average and the top- and bottom-ranking states in a number of key areas: education spending, staffing ratios, teacher salaries, and student demographics.

For data on how California's staffing ratios in specific employee categories compare to the nation as a whole, see Staff-per-Pupil Ratios in California 2008-09.

  U.S. Rankings for California

	California Rank in U.S.	California Average	U.S. Average	Highest	Lowest
Teachers' Salaries (2008-09)	3	$66,995	$54,274	$69,118/New York	$35,070/South Dakota
Public School Expenditures (2007-08) per $1,000 Personal Income in 2008	36	$38	$40	$53/Vermont	$25/District of Columbia
Personal Income per Pupil (2008) Statewide	22	$256,662	$252,592	$514,524/ District of Columbia*	$165,351/ Utah
Expenditures per Pupil (2007-08)†	28	$9,706	$10,297	$17,620/New Jersey	$5,978/Utah

 

Note: The numbers in this table are based on fall enrollment data.
* Connecticut is second at $351,431.
† Expenditures per pupil data are from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), Common Core of Data, 2007-08.

DATA: National Education Association's Rankings and Estimates, 2009-10 (Pg. 18)

EdSource 4/11