A new report from WalletHub finds Illinois ranking at No. 11 in a list of the country’s best and worst public school systems. The state had an overall score of 58.32 overall and ranked Nos. 9 and 21 in terms of quality and safety, respectively.
A number of the state’s top 10 public high schools are in Chicagoland, including Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago, Adlai E Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire and Prospect High School in Mt. Prospect, according to a 2017 ranking from U.S. News & World Report.
School districts are a major factor in the purchase of a home, with a recent National Association of Realtors’ Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2016 report finding that almost half of all buyers with children younger than 18 are influenced by the quality of the school district.
Another recent report found that desire to live near good schools was the third-biggest reason for moving among visitors to Realtor.com between the ages of 35 and 44.
| State | Total Score | Quality Rank | Safety Rank | |
| 1 | Massachusetts | 78.16 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | New Jersey | 66.92 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 64.65 | 4 | 14 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 64.25 | 6 | 7 |
| 5 | Vermont | 64.09 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Virginia | 63.77 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 62.68 | 7 | 18 |
| 8 | Connecticut | 61.31 | 3 | 33 |
| 9 | Iowa | 61.06 | 11 | 9 |
| 10 | Maine | 59.93 | 16 | 4 |
| 11 | Illinois | 58.32 | 9 | 21 |