Least 'Equitable' School Districts: How PA Stacks Up In New Report

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania may be home to several of America's best school districts, but it's also home to significant inequality, according to new analysis from WalletHub.

Despite being home to some of the districts annually ranked in the top of the nation, the state ranks 29th for equality, according to the site.

WalletHub first scored 12,876 school districts across the nation based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.

These Pennsylvania school districts are the most equitable, according to WalletHub (the list shows the school district's name, expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil, and then average family income by school district):

1. Trinity Area School District, $15,504, $66,483
2. Manheim Central School District, $14,630, $70,098
3. West York Area School District, $16,401, $62,792
4. Dallas School District, $13,701, $73,960
5. Penns Manor Area School District, $18,636, $53,844
6. Penn-Trafford School District, $13,220, $76,143
7. Fairfield Area School District, $14,681, $70,271
8. Leechburg Area School District, $17,480, $58,908
9. Big Spring School District, $16,758, $61,888
10. Conestoga Valley School District, $13,923, $72,431

Pennsylvania's 10 least equitable, meanwhile:

1. Lower Merion School District, $26,774, $138,233
2. New Hope-Solebury School District, $24,871, $132,730
3. Radnor Township School District, $22,064, $133,790
4. Upper Dublin School District, $20,768, $138,316
5. Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, $18,950, $138,060
6. Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, $17,126, $145,426
7. Council Rock School District, $19,582, $131,177
8. Upper Saint Clair School District, $19,558, $127,938
9. Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, $19,454, $122,985
10. Great Valley School District, $19,250, $123,430

WalletHub ranked Iowa first in terms of school equitability, while New York placed last. Red states held a better average ranking (17.44) than blue states (32.88), with designations based on how each state voted in the 2020 presidential election. Seven red states top the list, while red states occupied seven of the last eight spots.

The most important way to close gaps is through an equitable state-aid formula, according to Dr. Daniel Katz, Seton Hall University's former chair of Educational Studies.

"States like New Jersey and New York, for example," Katz said, "have funding mechanisms designed to increase aid to communities with higher need, and while there are many questions about how well those formulas work and whether or not the state fully finds their commitments, that principle has to be in the baseline."