<p>The balanced allocation of educational resources is a key path to promoting educational equity and achieving high-quality development. In this research, a compulsory education resource allocation index system consisting of 10 factors from three dimensions of material resources, financial resources, and human resources is constructed based on resource dependency theory. The Moran’s I and Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition method are used to empirically examine the provincial differences of compulsory education resource allocation level (CERAL) from 2013 to 2022 in China, and an XGBoost-SHAP model is used to identify the influencing factors of CERAL. The results indicate that the overall CERAL in China is relatively low, with significant variations among provinces. Spatially, the eastern region exhibits the highest CERAL values, followed by the western region, whereas the central region records the lowest levels. The regional difference Gini coefficient for CERAL stands at 0.263, close to the warning threshold of 0.3. Interregional gaps between the eastern and central zones, as well as the northern and southern zones, are especially prominent. Non-agricultural economic development and fiscal decentralization exert dominant positive effects on CERAL, whereas educational investment intensity and school-age population size serve as primary restraining factors. This research advances theoretical insights into the spatial patterns and driving mechanisms underlying equitable educational resource distribution across China, and delivers solid empirical evidence for designing evidence-based, operable policy frameworks to advance the high-quality development of compulsory education nationwide.</p>