How Many Schools Are In The US (2024 Data & Numbers)

Did you know there’s one school for every 2,892 Americans? 

The American educational landscape has 115,171 institutions, representing a massive educational solutions and policy implementation market.

From STEM-focused magnet schools to virtual learning platforms serving 989 schools, the diverse institutional makeup offers rich ground for innovation, investment, and systemic improvements in education delivery.

Let us have a look at how many schools are in the US!

Top Picks: How Many Schools Are In The US

• The U.S. has 115,171 schools as of Q1 of 2024, including all K-12 public and private schools, adult education, and technical schools.

This gives an average of one school for every 2,892 people in the USA.

There are 2,041 year-round schools in the U.S., representing just under 2% of all schools.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes 353 schools in 2023 for high academic achievement or successful efforts to close achievement gaps among disadvantaged students.

(MDR Education)

• There are 101,105 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States as of the 2022–23 school year, out of which 1,696 schools are nonoperational, including closed, inactive, or future schools. (NCES)
• 99,409 public elementary and secondary schools were operating in the United States as per the latest data
• This number includes traditional public schools, charter schools, and other public schools providing prekindergarten through grade 12 education. (NCES 2022-23)
• Among the operational schools, 88,835 are regular public schools, providing core education services across prekindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school levels.
• California leads with over 1,381 high schools, followed closely by Texas with 1,400 in the race for the state with the most high schools.
  (NCES 2023-2202)

Breakdown Of School Types In the USA

• When examining how many public schools in the US operate today, data shows 95,842 public institutions serving diverse communities nationwide.

Private and Catholic schools account for 17% of U.S. schools, with 13,871 private (non-Catholic) and 5,458 Catholic schools.

There are 2,079 magnet schools in the U.S., 719 of which focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math).

About 43% of public schools qualify for Title I funding, serving low-income families. This amounts to 49,229 schools

989 virtual schools cater to students who attend entirely online in the USA.
(MDR Education)

• In the USA, there are 90,604 regular schools,
• 1,882 special education schools,
• 1,571 career and technical education schools,
• 5,352 alternative education schools. 

Additionally, 7,999 charter schools may overlap with these categories.
(NCES 2022- 2023)

• The United States has 1,160 prekindergarten schools, forming a small but critical component of the K-12 landscape.

High schools account for 17,579 regular public schools, reflecting their essential role in secondary education. (NCES 2023-2202)

Distribution By Education Levels

• The total number of regularly operating public elementary and secondary schools in the United States for the 2022–23 school year is 88,835.
• Understanding how many middle schools are in the US helps explain educational access, with 15,952 middle schools representing 18% of all regular operating schools.

Below is the breakdown of this total:

This includes all regular operating schools across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. (NCES)

Number Of School Districts And State Wise In The USA

• How many school districts in the US?

While the exact distribution varies by state, States like California and Texas dominate with large concentrations.

For instance, California has 1,381 high schools and an average student membership of approximately 767 per school.

While Texas has 1,400 high schools with an average of 793 students per school. 

In contrast, states like Montana, with only 176 high schools, have much smaller averages, with many schools serving fewer than 200 students, reflecting regional needs and population densities.

California has 10,118 schools, including 9,371 public schools and 1,017 private schools. 

Here is a look at the top 5 States with the highest total number of schools:

Vermont has 729 schools, 585 public and 144 private. It also includes 49 charter schools, 24 special education schools, and 414 Title 1 schools, making it the State with the lowest school numbers in the USA.

Let us take a look at how many high schools in the US are in the bottom 5 states in terms of the total number of schools in the USA:

(NCES)

Comparison Of Public, Private, And Charter Schools

• Private School Vs Public School Breakdown: There are 95,852 public schools and 19,329 private schools in the USA as of 2024. (MDR Education)
• Charter School Vs Public School: 47% of students in public schools are White, and this percentage rises to 65% in private schools.
• Charter schools are more racially and ethnically diverse, with 36% Hispanic, 29% White, 24% Black, and 4% Asian students.
• The analysis of public vs private school statistics reveals striking differences: private schools enroll 65% white students compared to 47% in public institutions.
• Charter schools vs public schools demonstrate notable demographic variations, with charter schools showing higher Hispanic student enrollment at 36% compared to 26% in traditional public schools.

Let us check the Demographics by School Type (2021-2022)

(Pew Research)

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