Utah slipped from second to fifth in WalletHub's 2026 ranking of the best states for teachers, weighed down by large class sizes and low per-student spending.

The 2026 study, released Monday, Sept. 14, compared all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 24 measures including salary growth, class sizes, school spending and projected teacher competition. Washington state took the top spot, followed by New York, Virginia, Illinois and Utah.

The drop matters locally. Canyons School District set class-size targets as high as 27 students in high school as of April 2025, and Utah's statewide ratios rank among the worst in the country.

Utah's biggest slide came in the academic and work environment category, where the state fell from 11th in 2025 to 18th. ABC4 reported that WalletHub flagged two factors: Utah has the fourth-highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the nation and the third-lowest public school spending per student.

National Education Association data paints a similar picture, though the exact ranking differs. The NEA pegged Utah's ratio at 21.9 students per teacher in fall 2024, third-highest nationally, compared with a national average of 15.1. By that measure, an average Utah classroom has roughly seven more students than the national norm.

Per-student spending follows the same pattern. Utah spends about $11,342 per pupil annually, according to World Population Review data. The national average is $17,619.

In an April 2025 episode of the district's Connect Canyons podcast, Canyons School District Human Resources Director Steve Dimond said class-size targets at the time ranged from about 22 students in kindergarten to 27 in high school. The district's starting teacher salary was $61,610 as of that episode.

Dimond said special education, dual language immersion, math, science and career and technical education positions are the hardest to staff across the district's schools.

Kelly Tauteoli, the district's assistant HR director over secondary schools, described the pressure new teachers face during a weeklong orientation at Sandy's Union Middle School in August. "And during that first year, there's just a giant mountain of planning … You're teaching your classes for the first time, and then have to do so much lesson planning," Tauteoli told the Deseret News.

Utah held onto the top five partly because it offers teacher tenure after three years and teachers report above-average feelings of support from administrators, according to the WalletHub study. The state's average teacher salary of $72,882 ranks 18th nationally, per NEA data, just below the $74,495 national average.

No Canyons School District board agenda item addressing the ranking or staffing ratios has been announced.