Utah fell from second to fifth in WalletHub's national teacher ranking, weighed down by crowded classrooms and low per-student spending.

The drop matters for Cottonwood Heights and Holladay families. Both local school districts approved property tax increases this summer, citing class sizes and teacher support as top budget priorities.

WalletHub's 2026 study analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 24 metrics. Utah's sharpest slide came in the Academic and Work Environment category, where the state fell from 11th to 18th. WalletHub flagged Utah's fourth-highest pupil-to-teacher ratio and third-lowest public school spending per student as key factors.

Washington, New York, Virginia and Illinois finished ahead of Utah. The state also slipped from first to sixth in WalletHub's Opportunity and Competition category, ABC4 reported.

Utah kept some advantages. The study credited the state for offering teacher tenure after three years and for teachers reporting stronger-than-average support from school administrators.

Local tax hikes target class sizes, teacher pay

Canyons School District, which includes Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, voted 7-0 on Aug. 4 to raise its property tax rate for only the fourth time in the district's 18-year history. The increase will generate roughly $6.9 million, with $2.2 million earmarked for employee cost-of-living raises, according to Business Administrator Leon Wilcox.

Canyons has also boosted starting teacher pay. At the June 16 board meeting, Wilcox said starting annual pay for licensed staff rose from $50,000 in 2019-20 to $65,825 for the 2026-27 school year, a 31.7% increase.

The district still faces headwinds. Enrollment stood at 31,506 students in 2025-26 and is projected to keep declining. Canyons plans to employ 53 fewer teachers in the 2026-27 school year, according to June 2 board meeting minutes. Staff reported continued stressors including class sizes, special education workload and staffing shortages during the superintendent's listening tour.

Granite School District, which serves Olympus High School and Skyline High School in Holladay, approved a larger increase. As we reported in July, the district proposed an 11.2% rate hike. The board voted 6-1 on Aug. 18 to set a 10.26% increase generating approximately $21.1 million. Board member Kim Chandler cast the lone dissenting vote.

Granite said its budget prioritizes smaller class sizes, teacher support and funding for new state requirements in special education, preschool and English language learners, according to the district's July Parent Link newsletter. The district cited more than $12 million in state funding reductions and unfunded mandates over the past two years, along with a $3.5 million gap between projected and actual special education funding.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said the top-ranked states "compensate educators well, invest heavily in educational resources … and provide supportive conditions that lead to low turnover."

Neither district has released school-specific pupil-to-teacher ratios that would show how local classrooms compare to the statewide figures WalletHub measured.