The which-state-is-richer bit is a huge fallacy. I would argue it's much more difficult for an education system to function in much of California because of th

The which-state-is-richer bit is a huge fallacy. I would argue it's much more difficult for an education system to function in much of California because of the wealth gap created by the tech and entertainment industries. These industries poach a lot of talent, much like the way the finance industry did in NYC. If I still lived in NYC, I'd probably be teaching on the side because my day job would be boring. But I'm in California, so I'm going to try at a startup instead. This wealth gap also makes it difficult to educate disadvantaged kids because similarly, the rich districts poach teachers from the poor districts. Again, first-hand experience in NYC, and I see the same factors at play here in the Bay Area. Only up in SF where you have an abundance of lifestyle (cough hipsters cough) folks do you have schools that are much better than their funding levels ought to indicate. All said, it's probably not a good idea to raise your kid in a state where the economics are tilted against the education system. So yea, Texas wins... but that's a pretty stupid win.