While the U.S. is one of the most educated countries in the world, it doesn’t provide the same quality elementary school or secondary school education to all students. In many states, more affluent school districts receive a greater amount of funding per student than poorer districts.
Discrepancies between the rich and poor have been exacerbated even more this year by the COVID-19 pandemic. As states decide whether their school districts will have in-person learning this fall, studies show that low-income students will suffer the greatest “learning loss” due to partial or total remote learning. One contributing factor is that people in low-income districts are less likely to have the technological resources they need.
States that provide equitable funding to all school districts can help prevent poor students from having lower graduation rates, lower rates of pursuing higher education and smaller future incomes than their wealthy peers. The difference is dramatic: College graduates have $460 - $1,154 higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma and no college experience, depending on the degree.
Connecticut has the 20th least equitable school districts in the U.S. overall, but some districts within the state are fairer than others. To find out where school funding is distributed most equitably, WalletHub scored 166 districts in Connecticut based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil. Read on for the district ranking and a complete description of our methodology.
Note: For visual purposes, we included only the top 7 school districts by enrollment from each category. Rank 1 on the “Expenditures Ranking” means highest expenditures and Rank 1 on “Income Ranking” means lowest income.
Most & Least Equitable School Districts in Connecticut
| Rank* | School District | Score | Expeditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools per Pupil | Income by School District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin Public Schools | 0.14 | $20,945 | $94,000 |
| 2 | Oxford Schools | 0.19 | $18,073 | $106,047 |
| 3 | Litchfield Town Schools | 0.24 | $24,113 | $80,570 |
| 4 | West Hartford Public Schools | 0.41 | $19,633 | $99,280 |
| 5 | East Hampton Town Schools | 0.53 | $19,480 | $100,780 |
| 6 | Somers Public Schools | 0.58 | $18,199 | $105,164 |
| 7 | Colchester Town Schools | 0.62 | $18,614 | $103,380 |
| 8 | Eastford Public Schools | 0.70 | $22,567 | $86,667 |
| 9 | Brookfield Town Schools | 2.26 | $18,318 | $107,255 |
| 10 | New Hartford Public Schools | 2.43 | $20,094 | $99,926 |
| 11 | North Haven Town Schools | 2.47 | $19,232 | $99,094 |
| 12 | Stamford City Schools | 2.72 | $21,502 | $89,309 |
| 13 | Milford Public Schools | 2.86 | $22,597 | $89,778 |
| 14 | East Windsor Public Schools | 2.91 | $26,125 | $74,974 |
| 15 | Canterbury Town Schools | 3.04 | $21,910 | $92,835 |
| 16 | Regional High School District 7 | 3.09 | $20,409 | $99,205 |
| 17 | Marlborough Town Schools | 3.38 | $17,967 | $109,750 |
| 18 | Lebanon Town Schools | 3.53 | $21,324 | $95,757 |
| 19 | Bethel Town Schools | 3.74 | $18,391 | $101,473 |
| 20 | Berlin Public Schools | 4.06 | $19,622 | $95,996 |
| 21 | Regional School District 15 | 4.57 | $20,928 | $98,365 |
| 22 | Waterford Town Schools | 4.71 | $21,989 | $85,438 |
| 23 | Hamden Town Schools | 4.96 | $24,321 | $75,392 |
| 24 | Chaplin Town Schools | 5.15 | $28,054 | $68,889 |
| 25 | Farmington Town Schools | 5.62 | $19,616 | $94,606 |
| 26 | Old Saybrook Public Schools | 5.81 | $22,707 | $81,411 |
| 27 | Regional School District 4 | 6.02 | $21,810 | $85,000 |
| 28 | Lisbon Central Schools | 6.40 | $20,885 | $88,553 |
| 29 | East Haddam Town Schools | 6.53 | $23,022 | $91,339 |
| 30 | East Lyme Public Schools | 6.66 | $19,673 | $93,416 |
| 31 | Regional School District 16 | 6.75 | $18,636 | $97,699 |
| 32 | South Windsor Public Schools | 7.14 | $19,413 | $107,088 |
| 33 | Bloomfield Town Schools | 7.69 | $26,690 | $76,952 |
| 34 | Windsor Town School District | 8.05 | $23,909 | $88,986 |
| 35 | Suffield Town Schools | 9.22 | $18,798 | $111,573 |
| 36 | Regional School District 8 | 9.28 | $19,777 | $107,513 |
| 37 | Winchester Public Schools | 9.43 | $29,038 | $68,651 |
| 38 | Branford Town Schools | 9.50 | $22,204 | $80,167 |
| 39 | Kent Town Schools | 9.84 | $29,760 | $65,985 |
| 40 | New Fairfield Public Schools | 9.95 | $20,021 | $107,089 |
| 41 | Regional School District 14 | 10.45 | $21,905 | $80,566 |
| 42 | Windsor Locks Town Schools | 11.09 | $25,023 | $66,846 |
| 43 | Shelton City Schools | 11.11 | $18,464 | $94,446 |
| 44 | Tolland Town Schools | 11.18 | $18,238 | $115,718 |
| 45 | North Canaan Town Schools | 11.23 | $24,616 | $68,438 |
| 46 | Essex Town Schools | 11.34 | $25,093 | $87,000 |
| 47 | Barkhamsted Town Schools | 11.35 | $19,379 | $111,071 |
| 48 | Deep River Town Schools | 11.41 | $23,815 | $71,641 |
| 49 | Hebron Town Schools | 11.45 | $19,432 | $110,938 |
| 50 | Cheshire Town Schools | 11.48 | $18,962 | $112,945 |
| 51 | Canton Town Schools | 11.62 | $19,587 | $89,255 |
| 52 | Bolton Town Schools | 11.74 | $20,806 | $105,417 |
| 53 | Guilford Public Schools | 11.78 | $19,727 | $110,000 |
| 54 | Coventry Public Schools | 12.12 | $18,955 | $91,461 |
| 55 | Bozrah Town Schools | 12.38 | $25,292 | $87,109 |
| 56 | Regional School District 6 | 12.78 | $22,521 | $99,141 |
| 57 | Scotland Town Schools | 12.91 | $24,958 | $89,000 |
| 58 | Norwalk City Schools | 12.95 | $20,910 | $82,474 |
| 59 | Willington Town Schools | 14.26 | $22,416 | $74,940 |
| 60 | Portland Town Schools | 14.50 | $18,480 | $91,295 |
| 61 | Regional School District 10 | 14.83 | $17,992 | $120,084 |
| 62 | Newington Public Schools | 14.86 | $21,011 | $80,310 |
| 63 | North Branford Town Schools | 14.89 | $19,631 | $86,087 |
| 64 | East Granby School System | 15.19 | $22,677 | $100,689 |
| 65 | Thompson Town Schools | 15.48 | $20,726 | $80,941 |
| 66 | Granby Public Schools | 15.69 | $17,934 | $121,114 |
| 67 | Voluntown School District | 15.79 | $21,909 | $75,673 |
| 68 | Madison Public Schools | 16.11 | $21,910 | $104,754 |
| 69 | Salisbury Central School | 16.26 | $26,943 | $83,698 |
| 70 | Trumbull Town Schools | 16.35 | $18,649 | $118,707 |
| 71 | Stonington Town Schools | 16.59 | $20,887 | $79,250 |
| 72 | Hampton Town Schools | 16.93 | $29,086 | $75,288 |
| 73 | Regional School District 11 | 17.55 | $28,845 | $76,863 |
| 74 | Preston Town Schools | 17.81 | $21,498 | $75,568 |
| 75 | Wallingford Town Schools | 18.06 | $20,529 | $79,420 |
| 76 | Regional School District 17 | 18.18 | $21,238 | $109,470 |
| 77 | Colebrook Town Schools | 18.33 | $25,471 | $91,786 |
| 78 | Clinton Twn Schools | 18.43 | $21,176 | $76,360 |
| 79 | Cromwell Town Schools | 19.11 | $17,351 | $91,841 |
| 80 | Southington Town Schools | 20.25 | $17,015 | $92,220 |
| 81 | New Milford Town Schools | 20.54 | $18,146 | $87,188 |
| 82 | Salem Town Schools | 20.74 | $20,955 | $113,000 |
| 83 | Ashford Town Schools | 21.17 | $22,503 | $68,269 |
| 84 | Monroe Town Schools | 21.39 | $20,608 | $115,049 |
| 85 | Wolcott Town Public Schools | 21.49 | $18,037 | $86,786 |
| 86 | Ledyard Public Schools | 21.66 | $16,935 | $91,268 |
| 87 | Pomfret Town Schools | 21.78 | $19,832 | $78,958 |
| 88 | Manchester Town Schools | 21.98 | $21,743 | $70,736 |
| 89 | Regional School District 18 | 22.26 | $25,952 | $93,345 |
| 90 | Chester Town Schools | 22.44 | $26,210 | $92,417 |
| 91 | Wethersfield Town Schools | 22.46 | $18,632 | $83,391 |
| 92 | Glastonbury Town Schools | 22.48 | $20,469 | $116,625 |
| 93 | North Stonington Public Schools | 23.13 | $20,009 | $76,985 |
| 94 | Columbia Town Schools | 23.21 | $23,007 | $106,604 |
| 95 | Stafford Town Schools | 23.44 | $20,935 | $72,806 |
| 96 | Simsbury Public Schools | 23.69 | $20,028 | $119,588 |
| 97 | Regional School District 1 | 24.14 | $30,114 | $77,533 |
| 98 | Mansfield Town Schools | 24.41 | $24,525 | $56,807 |
| 99 | Orange Town Schools | 24.53 | $20,773 | $117,215 |
| 100 | Andover Town Schools | 24.65 | $24,627 | $101,098 |
| 101 | Plymouth Town Schools | 25.96 | $18,503 | $80,750 |
| 102 | Middletown City Schools | 26.12 | $21,578 | $67,651 |
| 103 | Rocky Hill Town Schools | 26.16 | $17,900 | $83,100 |
| 104 | Westbrook Town Schools | 27.64 | $28,032 | $89,489 |
| 105 | Newtown Town Schools | 27.99 | $19,917 | $123,974 |
| 106 | Montville Town Schools | 28.03 | $19,714 | $73,765 |
| 107 | Bethany Community Schools | 28.23 | $20,995 | $119,653 |
| 108 | Ellington Town Schools | 28.94 | $16,713 | $85,572 |
| 109 | Watertown Town Schools | 29.55 | $18,635 | $76,920 |
| 110 | Regional School District 13 | 29.56 | $23,569 | $110,034 |
| 111 | Stratford Town Schools | 29.92 | $18,809 | $75,845 |
| 112 | Hartland Town Schools | 30.31 | $27,240 | $95,259 |
| 113 | Sterling Town Schools | 31.03 | $18,061 | $77,985 |
| 114 | Woodstock Public Schools | 31.27 | $15,268 | $89,531 |
| 115 | Groton Town Public Schools | 31.41 | $20,589 | $66,999 |
| 116 | Norfolk Town Schools | 32.04 | $32,295 | $75,547 |
| 117 | Thomaston Public Schools | 33.70 | $19,887 | $67,862 |
| 118 | Regional School District 5 | 34.06 | $20,661 | $126,373 |
| 119 | Naugatuck Borough Schools | 34.85 | $19,009 | $70,512 |
| 120 | Regional High School District 19 | 34.99 | $20,251 | $65,158 |
| 121 | East Haven Town Schools | 35.24 | $20,154 | $65,333 |
| 122 | Enfield Town Schools | 35.85 | $17,388 | $76,423 |
| 123 | Torrington City Schools | 37.10 | $20,169 | $63,576 |
| 124 | Vernon Town Schools | 37.14 | $20,401 | $62,566 |
| 125 | Avon Public Schools | 37.15 | $19,876 | $132,500 |
| 126 | Plainville Town Schools | 39.43 | $19,196 | $65,553 |
| 127 | Seymour Town Schools | 40.57 | $17,669 | $70,941 |
| 128 | Fairfield Town School District | 40.72 | $20,160 | $134,559 |
| 129 | Putnam Town Schools | 42.29 | $19,954 | $59,753 |
| 130 | Derby City Schools | 44.40 | $20,316 | $56,301 |
| 131 | Griswold Town Schools | 44.58 | $18,795 | $62,542 |
| 132 | Brooklyn Town Schools | 44.98 | $16,441 | $72,090 |
| 133 | Plainfield Town Schools | 45.09 | $17,495 | $67,551 |
| 134 | Sprague Town Schools | 46.95 | $17,536 | $65,688 |
| 135 | Bristol City Schools | 47.06 | $17,241 | $66,829 |
| 136 | Woodbridge Public Schools | 47.19 | $19,748 | $142,188 |
| 137 | East Hartford Public Schools | 47.71 | $19,797 | $55,468 |
| 138 | Sherman Board Of Education | 48.28 | $26,797 | $113,506 |
| 139 | Norwich City Schools | 48.41 | $19,664 | $55,391 |
| 140 | West Haven City Schools | 49.01 | $18,889 | $58,112 |
| 141 | Killingly Town Schools | 49.22 | $17,988 | $61,709 |
| 142 | Danbury Public Schools | 51.19 | $15,196 | $71,672 |
| 143 | Meriden City Schools | 55.62 | $17,512 | $57,886 |
| 144 | Easton Town Schools | 55.78 | $21,454 | $142,841 |
| 145 | Union Town Schools | 56.99 | $34,094 | $90,714 |
| 146 | Canaan Town Schools | 59.03 | $37,592 | $77,847 |
| 147 | Windham Town Schools | 59.28 | $19,994 | $44,091 |
| 148 | Ansonia Public Schools | 62.26 | $17,105 | $53,540 |
| 149 | Redding Town Schools | 65.64 | $27,102 | $128,047 |
| 150 | New Haven City Schools | 65.78 | $19,289 | $41,142 |
| 151 | Regional School District 9 | 66.59 | $26,614 | $130,966 |
| 152 | New London City Schools | 67.04 | $19,363 | $39,675 |
| 153 | Hartford Public Schools | 68.19 | $20,383 | $34,338 |
| 154 | New Britain City Schools | 68.72 | $17,675 | $45,258 |
| 155 | Regional School District 12 | 68.82 | $32,888 | $106,577 |
| 156 | Waterbury City Schools | 72.37 | $17,748 | $41,617 |
| 157 | Greenwich Town Schools | 72.98 | $25,182 | $142,819 |
| 158 | Ridgefield Public Schools | 74.71 | $21,828 | $158,518 |
| 159 | Bridgeport City Schools | 75.21 | $16,225 | $45,441 |
| 160 | Sharon Town Schools | 80.33 | $42,072 | $78,403 |
| 161 | Cornwall Consolidated School | 107.19 | $47,014 | $82,083 |
| 162 | Wilton Town Schools | 113.15 | $23,172 | $187,903 |
| 163 | Westport Town Schools | 119.78 | $24,588 | $187,988 |
| 164 | New Canaan Town Schools | 120.37 | $23,660 | $192,428 |
| 165 | Darien Town Schools | 137.25 | $23,020 | $210,511 |
| 166 | Weston Public Schools | 153.05 | $24,406 | $219,083 |
*1=Most Equitable
Methodology
In order to rank the states with the most and least equitable school districts, WalletHub first scored 12,919 school districts throughout the U.S. based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
For expenditures, for each 1 percent above the state's average we removed 1 point from a base score of 50 points for each district. For household income, for each 1 percent above the state's average we added 1 point to a base score of 50 points for each district. The inverse was true for each 1 percent below the state's average.
The final score for each district was calculated by taking the absolute difference between the score for expenditures and the score for household income. We then ranked the districts based on the total score, with the lowest value, representing the most equitable, being ranked 1.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from of the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics.