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, with one estimate claiming that low-income districts are underfunded by around $6,700 per pupil.
Discrepancies between the rich and poor have been exacerbated even more due to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-income students have suffered 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 $154 - $1,115 higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma and no college experience, depending on the degree.
Tennessee has the 16th most 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 140 districts in Tennessee based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
Main Findings
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 Tennessee
| Rank* | School District | Score | Expeditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools per Pupil | Income by School District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giles County | 0.10 | $9,622 | $49,815 |
| 2 | Gibson Co Sp Dist | 0.26 | $8,257 | $56,763 |
| 3 | McMinn County | 0.58 | $8,988 | $52,785 |
| 4 | Clinton | 1.62 | $9,702 | $50,158 |
| 5 | Dyersburg | 1.89 | $10,981 | $41,724 |
| 6 | Greeneville | 2.22 | $11,071 | $41,086 |
| 7 | Pickett County | 2.51 | $10,653 | $43,125 |
| 8 | Monroe County | 2.51 | $9,423 | $49,548 |
| 9 | Cannon County | 2.53 | $9,337 | $52,518 |
| 10 | West Carroll Sp Dist | 2.63 | $9,611 | $48,507 |
| 11 | Marshall County | 2.68 | $8,819 | $55,299 |
| 12 | Shelby County | 2.76 | $10,812 | $44,927 |
| 13 | Meigs County | 2.87 | $9,711 | $50,733 |
| 14 | Madison County | 3.98 | $9,503 | $48,396 |
| 15 | Tullahoma | 4.11 | $10,288 | $48,342 |
| 16 | Jefferson County | 4.38 | $8,794 | $51,899 |
| 17 | Stewart County | 4.41 | $9,243 | $49,537 |
| 18 | Hickman County | 4.47 | $9,636 | $47,457 |
| 19 | Rhea County | 4.47 | $9,564 | $47,830 |
| 20 | Dyer County | 4.50 | $9,377 | $48,795 |
| 21 | Chester County | 4.64 | $8,494 | $53,336 |
| 22 | Sullivan County | 4.73 | $9,558 | $52,464 |
| 23 | Bristol | 4.82 | $10,601 | $42,243 |
| 24 | Kingsport | 5.09 | $10,626 | $41,976 |
| 25 | Marion County | 5.13 | $8,976 | $50,573 |
| 26 | Washington County | 5.17 | $8,767 | $56,813 |
| 27 | Hawkins County | 5.25 | $9,914 | $45,611 |
| 28 | Bradley County | 5.39 | $8,760 | $56,958 |
| 29 | Bledsoe County | 5.72 | $10,243 | $49,382 |
| 30 | Franklin County | 6.65 | $9,511 | $47,018 |
| 31 | Smith County | 7.53 | $9,122 | $48,611 |
| 32 | Roane County | 8.20 | $9,784 | $53,016 |
| 33 | Cumberland County | 8.31 | $8,891 | $49,423 |
| 34 | Bedford County | 8.60 | $8,184 | $52,973 |
| 35 | Perry County | 8.66 | $10,652 | $48,716 |
| 36 | Lebanon | 8.74 | $9,361 | $55,496 |
| 37 | Polk County | 8.89 | $9,620 | $45,326 |
| 38 | Unicoi County | 8.94 | $9,769 | $44,526 |
| 39 | Cleveland | 9.16 | $9,745 | $44,542 |
| 40 | Trousdale County | 9.80 | $9,178 | $56,981 |
| 41 | Humphreys County | 9.95 | $8,928 | $48,411 |
| 42 | Manchester | 10.06 | $10,591 | $49,736 |
| 43 | Dickson County | 10.12 | $9,051 | $57,804 |
| 44 | Lincoln County | 10.28 | $8,707 | $59,682 |
| 45 | Wayne County | 10.36 | $10,077 | $42,206 |
| 46 | Morgan County | 10.63 | $10,148 | $41,701 |
| 47 | Anderson County | 10.88 | $10,133 | $52,534 |
| 48 | Milan | 10.91 | $9,366 | $45,644 |
| 49 | Obion County | 11.23 | $9,455 | $45,018 |
| 50 | Grainger County | 11.26 | $9,513 | $44,703 |
| 51 | Coffee County | 11.70 | $9,620 | $55,626 |
| 52 | Van Buren County | 11.72 | $11,163 | $47,576 |
| 53 | Henry County | 11.92 | $9,601 | $43,912 |
| 54 | Lauderdale County | 12.11 | $9,967 | $41,905 |
| 55 | Benton County | 12.66 | $10,467 | $39,019 |
| 56 | Fayetteville | 12.72 | $9,790 | $42,524 |
| 57 | Rogersville | 12.81 | $10,000 | $41,384 |
| 58 | Sevier County | 13.06 | $10,495 | $51,734 |
| 59 | Carter County | 13.29 | $9,799 | $42,191 |
| 60 | Crockett County | 13.66 | $8,613 | $48,203 |
| 61 | Bradford | 13.75 | $9,743 | $42,255 |
| 62 | Henderson County | 13.78 | $9,024 | $45,995 |
| 63 | Grundy County | 13.88 | $9,566 | $43,116 |
| 64 | South Carroll | 14.14 | $9,310 | $44,321 |
| 65 | Tipton County | 14.34 | $8,561 | $62,474 |
| 66 | Johnson City | 14.40 | $10,018 | $40,496 |
| 67 | Houston County | 14.41 | $9,438 | $43,521 |
| 68 | Haywood County | 14.45 | $10,301 | $38,994 |
| 69 | Elizabethton | 14.67 | $10,469 | $38,007 |
| 70 | Hardeman County Schools | 14.95 | $10,130 | $39,636 |
| 71 | Lenoir City | 15.63 | $9,080 | $44,779 |
| 72 | Alcoa | 15.78 | $11,433 | $48,195 |
| 73 | Maury County | 16.03 | $9,088 | $60,567 |
| 74 | Knox County | 16.15 | $9,352 | $59,250 |
| 75 | Cheatham County | 16.51 | $8,479 | $63,988 |
| 76 | Greene County | 16.72 | $8,986 | $44,726 |
| 77 | Putnam County | 17.07 | $8,869 | $45,160 |
| 78 | Millington Municipal Schools | 17.96 | $10,157 | $55,952 |
| 79 | Hardin County | 18.03 | $9,328 | $42,285 |
| 80 | White County | 18.12 | $8,937 | $44,282 |
| 81 | Johnson County | 19.19 | $10,020 | $38,090 |
| 82 | Lake County | 19.26 | $10,752 | $34,230 |
| 83 | Alamo | 19.32 | $8,026 | $48,438 |
| 84 | Montgomery County | 19.46 | $9,327 | $61,037 |
| 85 | Trenton | 19.60 | $9,482 | $40,694 |
| 86 | Claiborne County | 20.03 | $9,965 | $37,954 |
| 87 | Warren County | 20.23 | $9,044 | $42,668 |
| 88 | Cocke County | 20.35 | $9,309 | $41,220 |
| 89 | Hamblen County | 20.40 | $8,935 | $43,151 |
| 90 | McKenzie | 20.87 | $8,708 | $44,100 |
| 91 | Weakley County | 21.25 | $9,172 | $41,488 |
| 92 | Jackson County | 21.29 | $10,242 | $35,880 |
| 93 | Lawrence County | 21.62 | $8,706 | $43,734 |
| 94 | DeKalb County | 21.64 | $8,579 | $44,389 |
| 95 | Blount County | 21.70 | $9,759 | $59,899 |
| 96 | Campbell County | 22.19 | $9,028 | $41,769 |
| 97 | Bells | 22.32 | $8,517 | $44,375 |
| 98 | Robertson County | 22.74 | $8,673 | $66,088 |
| 99 | Sequatchie County | 23.01 | $8,481 | $44,217 |
| 100 | Scott County | 23.16 | $9,225 | $40,253 |
| 101 | Mcnairy County | 23.22 | $9,206 | $40,327 |
| 102 | Fayette County Public Schools | 25.37 | $9,398 | $63,618 |
| 103 | Decatur County | 25.68 | $8,958 | $40,389 |
| 104 | Hamilton County | 26.13 | $10,814 | $56,606 |
| 105 | Murfreesboro | 26.66 | $10,109 | $60,550 |
| 106 | Athens | 26.91 | $9,515 | $36,864 |
| 107 | Humboldt City Schools | 27.24 | $10,446 | $31,837 |
| 108 | Union County | 27.81 | $7,844 | $45,143 |
| 109 | Loudon County | 28.06 | $9,140 | $66,310 |
| 110 | Lewis County | 28.96 | $9,297 | $36,977 |
| 111 | Lexington | 29.10 | $9,981 | $33,337 |
| 112 | Newport | 29.64 | $10,015 | $32,892 |
| 113 | Fentress County | 29.70 | $8,609 | $40,203 |
| 114 | Huntingdon Special School District | 30.57 | $8,870 | $38,403 |
| 115 | Hancock County | 31.48 | $10,730 | $28,234 |
| 116 | Macon County | 32.35 | $8,762 | $38,080 |
| 117 | Paris | 32.70 | $9,438 | $34,371 |
| 118 | Richard City | 33.22 | $8,367 | $39,706 |
| 119 | Clay County | 34.67 | $9,691 | $32,064 |
| 120 | Etowah | 34.93 | $8,868 | $36,236 |
| 121 | Union City | 35.40 | $9,802 | $31,123 |
| 122 | Sweetwater | 36.75 | $8,511 | $37,188 |
| 123 | Sumner County | 37.58 | $9,369 | $69,878 |
| 124 | Dayton | 37.87 | $8,739 | $35,436 |
| 125 | Hollow Rock - Bruceton | 38.21 | $8,932 | $34,258 |
| 126 | Overton County | 39.21 | $8,411 | $36,478 |
| 127 | Oak Ridge | 43.01 | $12,571 | $55,869 |
| 128 | Moore County | 43.94 | $11,149 | $63,762 |
| 129 | Rutherford County | 44.34 | $9,369 | $73,257 |
| 130 | Maryville | 46.87 | $10,994 | $66,038 |
| 131 | Davidson County | 51.50 | $12,112 | $62,515 |
| 132 | Oneida | 53.53 | $9,048 | $25,994 |
| 133 | Wilson County | 62.95 | $8,541 | $86,886 |
| 134 | Bartlett | 64.83 | $9,739 | $81,568 |
| 135 | Arlington | 99.24 | $8,986 | $102,711 |
| 136 | Lakeland | 104.07 | $9,143 | $104,302 |
| 137 | Franklin Ssd | 120.78 | $15,275 | $80,637 |
| 138 | Collierville | 139.92 | $10,082 | $117,327 |
| 139 | Germantown | 141.75 | $9,097 | $123,387 |
| 140 | Williamson County | 145.60 | $9,832 | $121,474 |
*1=Most Equitable
Methodology
In order to rank the states with the most and least equitable school districts, WalletHub first scored 12,876 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.
