Research · AP courses · October 2026
How many AP courses public high schools offer, state by state
As of October 2026: Maryland public high schools average 14.1 Advanced Placement courses each, the most of any state, and Virginia is close behind at 14.0. South Dakota averages 1.2 courses and North Dakota 1.4.
The table holds every state and the District of Columbia, with the share of public high schools that offer any AP course and the average number offered.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Maryland and Virginia are in a class of their own. Maryland public high schools average 14.1 AP courses and Virginia 14.0. New Jersey is next at 12.0, then Massachusetts and Connecticut at 10.9. After that the list falls away quickly.
Offering AP and offering a lot of AP are two different things. In Arkansas 88.0% of public high schools offer at least one AP course, one of the widest shares anywhere, and the average school offers 8.0. Minnesota runs the other way: 25.3% of its high schools offer any AP, and the average is 2.2. Wide access does not mean a long course list.
The three biggest states sit in the middle. Texas public high schools average 6.9 AP courses and California 6.9. Florida averages 7.3. In all three, about half of public high schools offer AP at all: 56.1% in Texas, 52.9% in California and 54.3% in Florida.
AP course access by state
Ranked by the average number of AP courses per public high school.
| State | Public high schools | Share offering any AP | Average AP courses per school |
|---|---|---|---|
| MD | 248 | 83.5% | 14.1 |
| VA | 329 | 89.4% | 14.0 |
| NJ | 499 | 78.4% | 12.0 |
| MA | 396 | 80.6% | 10.9 |
| CT | 200 | 83.0% | 10.9 |
| GA | 487 | 72.1% | 9.9 |
| NC | 566 | 74.2% | 9.0 |
| PA | 690 | 81.6% | 9.0 |
| WV | 123 | 85.4% | 8.8 |
| RI | 59 | 86.4% | 8.7 |
| DE | 58 | 67.2% | 8.1 |
| AR | 284 | 88.0% | 8.0 |
| SC | 246 | 71.1% | 7.5 |
| UT | 211 | 52.1% | 7.5 |
| FL | 946 | 54.3% | 7.3 |
| DC | 44 | 72.7% | 7.2 |
| NV | 154 | 55.8% | 7.2 |
| WI | 540 | 74.4% | 7.1 |
| IN | 409 | 78.0% | 7.0 |
| TX | 2,082 | 56.1% | 6.9 |
| CA | 2,412 | 52.9% | 6.9 |
| IL | 883 | 53.2% | 6.5 |
| NY | 1,382 | 72.4% | 6.3 |
| NH | 69 | 69.6% | 6.3 |
| ME | 120 | 72.5% | 5.9 |
| VT | 60 | 80.0% | 5.6 |
| KY | 342 | 57.0% | 5.5 |
| AZ | 485 | 43.3% | 5.2 |
| TN | 399 | 60.4% | 5.1 |
| AL | 365 | 67.4% | 5.0 |
| CO | 457 | 55.1% | 5.0 |
| HI | 67 | 59.7% | 5.0 |
| WA | 652 | 39.9% | 4.0 |
| MI | 1,050 | 42.7% | 3.9 |
| OH | 901 | 55.3% | 3.9 |
| NM | 214 | 45.8% | 3.6 |
| OR | 291 | 45.0% | 3.5 |
| LA | 333 | 46.5% | 3.4 |
| MO | 645 | 37.4% | 3.4 |
| OK | 459 | 57.3% | 3.4 |
| IA | 332 | 52.7% | 3.1 |
| KS | 344 | 29.4% | 3.1 |
| ID | 231 | 29.9% | 2.4 |
| NE | 300 | 34.3% | 2.3 |
| WY | 103 | 32.0% | 2.3 |
| MN | 776 | 25.3% | 2.2 |
| MS | 205 | 42.9% | 2.2 |
| MT | 170 | 35.9% | 2.0 |
| AK | 247 | 20.6% | 1.6 |
| ND | 159 | 24.5% | 1.4 |
| SD | 177 | 24.3% | 1.2 |
Course offerings are from the federal Civil Rights Data Collection for 2020-21, the COVID school year and the most recent the collection covers, when many schools cut or paused courses; read these as a floor for a normal year. The count is AP courses a school reported offering, not how many students took the exams and not how they scored, which the College Board holds school by school and does not publish. Virtual schools are left out, and private schools are not covered by this collection.
What an AP count tells you
This is a count of AP courses a school said it offers. It is not how many students sat the exams, and it is not how they scored. Read these numbers as the size of the menu, not as a measure of how well the courses are taught.
A long AP list matters for two reasons. Colleges read a transcript against what the school offered, so a student at a school with 2.2 courses is not penalized for taking fewer. And a student who wants eight AP courses cannot take them at a school that offers three.
Why the 2020-21 school year matters here
These offerings come from the federal civil rights collection for 2020-21, the COVID school year. Schools cut and paused courses that year, so for most states this is a floor rather than a normal year. The order of the states has held steady, but a single state average may sit a little low.
Private schools are not in this collection, and virtual schools are left out, so every number here describes a public high school with a building.
What a family should do with this
The state average is background. The number that counts is your own school's course list, and it sits on the school's page on Reach along with its dual enrollment, advanced math and lab science offerings.
If the list is short, look at what else is in reach: dual enrollment at a community college, an online AP section through the district, or a nearby school that takes transfers. Make that call in the spring of sophomore year, because junior year schedules are set early.
Questions parents ask
Which state offers the most AP courses?
Maryland public high schools average 14.1 AP courses and Virginia 14.0.
Does a school with few AP courses hurt my child's chances?
Colleges read a transcript against what the school offered, so a student at a school with 2.2 courses is not penalized for taking fewer.
Do these numbers show AP exam scores?
It is not how many students sat the exams, and it is not how they scored.
Method & sources: Course offerings are from the federal Civil Rights Data Collection for 2020-21, which is the COVID school year and the most recent year the collection covers. The population is public high schools with a building; virtual schools are excluded and private schools are not covered. The collection records AP courses offered, not exam takers and not exam scores, which the College Board holds school by school and does not publish. States are ranked by the average number of AP courses per high school.
- US Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection
- NCES Common Core of Data
- College Board, Advanced Placement program
This brief as data: /research/ap-courses-by-state.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
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