When buying a house, many people consider the education system ratings—aka how good the local elementary, middle and high schools are. However, it’s important to consider pre-K education as well.

Many parents might not see pre-K as that important when compared to higher education. Of course, as kids get older, that’s when they learn more—but that doesn’t mean that pre-K isn’t important. In fact, because kids take in so much when they’re so young, pre-K may even be more important that upper grades. Even attendance to pre-K at all can be crucial.

Science backs us up here. A study by the National Institute for Early Education Research found that students who attended pre-K full time perform better on math and literacy tests than those who only attend part-time pre-K. Additionally, kids who participate in pre-K programs are actually less likely to engage in crime in the future than those who don’t. Crazy, right?

Now that we’ve got your attention, check out which areas harbor the best pre-K programs around (and the worst). This list was determined by WalletHub, which compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions, “Access,” “Quality” and “Resources & Economic Support.” In total, there were 12 key metrics used to calculate the overall score and rank. 

Under “Access,” WalletHub considered factors such as the share of school districts that offer state pre-k programs, share of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in state pre-k programs, the share of 3- and 4-year olds enrolled in both pre-k and pre-k special education, and presence of waiting lists or frozen intake for child care assistance.

As for “Quality,” the states were ranked according to whether their pre-k quality benchmarks were met, the income requirement for state pre-k eligibility, and the requirement of school safety plans and audits.

“Resources & Economic Support” considered the total reported spending per child enrolled in preschool, the change in state spending per child, the total state head start program spending per child enrolled, and the monthly child care co-payment fees as share of family income.

Check out all the details below, including which states rank high and low!

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Access	Quality	Resources & Economic Support
1	Arkansas	74.70	4	1	20
2	Nebraska	70.72	5	2	22
3	District of Columbia	68.11	2	19	23
4	Maryland	65.14	24	2	8
5	Alabama	63.23	14	6	10
6	Rhode Island	63.18	29	6	1
7	Vermont	63.12	1	46	18
8	West Virginia	62.31	8	8	32
9	New Jersey	57.69	12	25	2
10	Oregon	57.54	19	18	3
11	New Mexico	57.39	9	39	5
12	Oklahoma	55.75	6	39	16
13	Illinois	55.43	3	45	24
14	South Carolina	54.32	13	14	30
15	Kentucky	54.10	11	13	44
16	Washington	53.57	20	21	12
17	Connecticut	53.36	15	15	29
18	Louisiana	53.19	21	12	35
19	Wisconsin	53.16	7	42	27
20	Delaware	52.63	23	17	17
21	Iowa	51.68	10	38	26
22	Tennessee	51.67	22	11	50
23	Maine	50.94	16	39	14
24	Hawaii	50.69	25	26	6
25	Alaska	49.67	26	22	13
26	Michigan	49.47	17	26	25
27	Virginia	48.86	48	4	28
28	Texas	48.59	42	5	42
29	California	47.81	31	23	11
30	Georgia	45.73	45	9	33
31	Ohio	44.86	28	20	40
32	Utah	44.78	37	43	7
33	North Carolina	43.98	47	9	31
34	Arizona	42.53	27	36	49
35	Mississippi	42.46	30	26	36
36	Nevada	42.18	50	16	4
37	Colorado	42.11	41	24	21
38	Pennsylvania	41.80	46	37	9
39	Florida	40.99	35	26	37
40	Wyoming	39.23	32	26	38
41	South Dakota	38.97	34	26	38
42	New York	37.91	43	46	19
43	Montana	37.00	36	26	46
44	Idaho	36.39	40	26	43
45	Kansas	36.13	18	50	41
46	New Hampshire	35.57	38	26	51
47	Minnesota	34.04	49	44	15
48	Massachusetts	32.46	44	48	34
49	Missouri	30.35	39	49	45
50	North Dakota	28.64	33	51	47
51	Indiana	20.79	51	26	48