It is useful for policymakers to think about rural education in the Garden State, since it has more rural people than Idaho, New Mexico, or Montana. But it ranks near the bottom among states in the percentage of students in rural schools (47th), of schools in rural communities (49th), people in rural places (49th), and students in small rural schools (50th). It has the highest rural teacher salaries in the nation, but its rural schools are among the nation's largest and a lot of rural school money never makes it to the classroom.

From Why Rural Matters 2003: The Continuing Need for Every State to Take Action on Rural Education, February 2003. Learn more about why rural matters in your state.

Why Rural Matters 2003: Summary for New Jersey

LINKS

U.S. Census Bureau

---