U.S. Charter School Enrollment by State 2026: Statistics & Charts
Public charter schools enrolled 3,717,857 students in fall 2022, equal to 7.6% of U.S. public elementary and secondary enrollment. State totals vary sharply in both scale and share.
The 2026 label marks the publication update. Enrollment rankings and enrollment shares retain the complete NCES 2022–23 series, while operating charter-school counts use the 2024–25 CCD Final Version 1a.
Charter Enrollment Statistics
Enrollment measures use the 2022–23 NCES series. Operating charter-school counts use the 2024–25 CCD Final Version 1a.
States with the Largest Charter Enrollments
Top 15 states by fall 2022 charter student count.
The chart is a visual summary of 2022–23 enrollment. The full 51-jurisdiction table retains every state and the District of Columbia, with 2024–25 operating charter-school counts shown separately.
Enrollment is concentrated in a small group of states
- The three largest state sectors account for 40.3% of U.S. charter enrollment.
- The five largest states enroll 1,905,113 students, or 51.2% of the national total.
- Total enrollment reflects sector scale; it does not show how large charter schooling is within each state’s public system.
Charter Enrollment, Change and Public-School Share by State
Rank, enrollment change and enrollment share use the 2022–23 NCES series. The charter-school count column uses 2024–25 CCD Final Version 1a.
| Rank | State | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | Change | Change % | 2024–25 schools | 2022–23 charter share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 677,337 | 645,732 | -31,605 | -4.7% | 1,276 | 11.9% |
| 2 | Texas | 443,548 | 468,935 | +25,387 | +5.7% | 1,056 | 8.5% |
| 3 | Florida | 361,634 | 382,367 | +20,733 | +5.7% | 734 | 13.3% |
| 4 | Arizona | 231,174 | 232,367 | +1,193 | +0.5% | 569 | 20.5% |
| 5 | New York | 173,332 | 175,712 | +2,380 | +1.4% | 350 | 7.0% |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 163,372 | 161,650 | -1,722 | -1.1% | 175 | 9.7% |
| 7 | Michigan | 149,521 | 150,193 | +672 | +0.4% | 368 | 10.8% |
| 8 | North Carolina | 131,624 | 139,461 | +7,837 | +6.0% | 213 | 9.0% |
| 9 | Colorado | 130,279 | 131,838 | +1,559 | +1.2% | 260 | 15.1% |
| 10 | Ohio | 115,021 | 115,618 | +597 | +0.5% | 339 | 6.9% |
| 11 | Louisiana | 86,301 | 95,098 | +8,797 | +10.2% | 146 | 13.2% |
| 12 | Utah | 77,716 | 78,597 | +881 | +1.1% | 142 | 11.4% |
| 13 | Georgia | 69,242 | 69,869 | +627 | +0.9% | 96 | 4.0% |
| 14 | Nevada | 63,921 | 68,739 | +4,818 | +7.5% | 104 | 14.2% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 66,595 | 67,890 | +1,295 | +1.9% | 309 | 7.8% |
| 16 | Illinois | 60,494 | 60,122 | -372 | -0.6% | 131 | 3.3% |
| 17 | New Jersey | 58,769 | 58,543 | -226 | -0.4% | 86 | 4.3% |
| 18 | Indiana | 50,073 | 51,117 | +1,044 | +2.1% | 134 | 4.9% |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 59,750 | 50,662 | -9,088 | -15.2% | 73 | 7.2% |
| 20 | South Carolina | 49,343 | 49,486 | +143 | +0.3% | 104 | 6.3% |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 49,714 | 48,960 | -754 | -1.5% | 225 | 6.0% |
| 22 | Massachusetts | 48,338 | 47,993 | -345 | -0.7% | 73 | 5.3% |
| 23 | Tennessee | 43,908 | 44,401 | +493 | +1.1% | 114 | 4.4% |
| 24 | Arkansas | 42,341 | 41,660 | -681 | -1.6% | 110 | 8.4% |
| 25 | Oregon | 42,499 | 41,282 | -1,217 | -2.9% | 128 | 7.6% |
| 26 | District of Columbia | 39,466 | 41,152 | +1,686 | +4.3% | 125 | 45.3% |
| 27 | New Mexico | 30,160 | 30,973 | +813 | +2.7% | 99 | 9.9% |
| 28 | Idaho | 28,051 | 28,598 | +547 | +1.9% | 84 | 9.0% |
| 29 | Missouri | 24,146 | 25,304 | +1,158 | +4.8% | 81 | 2.8% |
| 30 | Maryland | 24,100 | 23,967 | -133 | -0.6% | 50 | 2.7% |
| 31 | Delaware | 17,201 | 18,222 | +1,021 | +5.9% | 24 | 12.9% |
| 32 | Hawaii | 12,114 | 12,128 | +14 | +0.1% | 38 | 7.1% |
| 33 | Rhode Island | 11,357 | 12,095 | +738 | +6.5% | 42 | 8.9% |
| 34 | Connecticut | 11,047 | 10,881 | -166 | -1.5% | 21 | 2.2% |
| 35 | Alaska | 7,621 | 8,370 | +749 | +9.8% | 31 | 6.4% |
| 36 | Alabama | 3,531 | 5,748 | +2,217 | +62.8% | 23 | 0.8% |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 4,934 | 5,530 | +596 | +12.1% | 42 | 3.3% |
| 38 | Washington | 4,539 | 4,705 | +166 | +3.7% | 17 | 0.4% |
| 39 | Mississippi | 2,921 | 3,245 | +324 | +11.1% | 10 | 0.7% |
| 40 | Maine | 2,732 | 2,726 | -6 | -0.2% | 11 | 1.6% |
| 41 | Kansas | 2,877 | 2,499 | -378 | -13.1% | 7 | 0.5% |
| 42 | Virginia | 1,278 | 1,252 | -26 | -2.0% | 7 | 0.1% |
| 43 | West Virginia | 0 | 1,242 | +1,242 | New | 6 | 0.5% |
| 44 | Wyoming | 642 | 676 | +34 | +5.3% | 8 | 0.7% |
| 45 | Iowa | 149 | 252 | +103 | +69.1% | 7 | <0.1% |
| 46 | Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| — | Montana | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| — | Nebraska | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| — | North Dakota | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| — | South Dakota | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| — | Vermont | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Growth was broad, but not uniform
- Among the 46 jurisdictions with numeric values, enrollment rose in 31, fell in 14 and was unchanged in one.
- The ten largest state sectors account for 70.0% of U.S. charter enrollment.
- Five states are marked N/A for operating charter-school count because the 2024–25 CCD table identifies charter status as not applicable; Kentucky reports zero operating charter schools.
Scale, Share and Enrollment Movement
Supporting views separate absolute enrollment, public-school share and year-to-year movement.
Where Charters Hold the Largest Public-School Share
Top 10 jurisdictions by charter enrollment as a percentage of total public enrollment.
District of Columbia is included as a jurisdiction and is not classified as a state.
Share leaders differ from enrollment leaders
- The District of Columbia’s 45.3% share is more than twice Arizona’s 20.5%.
- California ranks first by student count but sits below several smaller sectors when measured by public-school share.
- Enrollment share measures sector presence, not school quality or student outcomes.
National Charter Enrollment Since 2012–13
Selected comparable years from the same NCES state table.
The selected-year series uses school-level enrollment based on known race and ethnicity totals.
Long-run growth continued at a slower recent pace
- Enrollment increased by 1,450,043 students between 2012–13 and 2022–23, a rise of about 63.9%.
- The latest one-year increase was 43,145 students, much smaller than the decade-wide gain.
Largest One-Year Gains and Declines
Student-count change and percentage change are shown together because a small starting enrollment can produce a large rate.
| Movement | State | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | Student change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gain | Texas | 443,548 | 468,935 | +25,387 | +5.7% |
| Gain | Florida | 361,634 | 382,367 | +20,733 | +5.7% |
| Gain | Louisiana | 86,301 | 95,098 | +8,797 | +10.2% |
| Gain | North Carolina | 131,624 | 139,461 | +7,837 | +6.0% |
| Gain | Nevada | 63,921 | 68,739 | +4,818 | +7.5% |
| Decline | California | 677,337 | 645,732 | -31,605 | -4.7% |
| Decline | Oklahoma | 59,750 | 50,662 | -9,088 | -15.2% |
| Decline | Pennsylvania | 163,372 | 161,650 | -1,722 | -1.1% |
| Decline | Oregon | 42,499 | 41,282 | -1,217 | -2.9% |
| Decline | Wisconsin | 49,714 | 48,960 | -754 | -1.5% |
Large gains were partly offset by a few steep declines
- Texas and Florida added a combined 46,120 students, more than the national net increase because losses elsewhere reduced the total.
- California recorded the largest numerical decline at 31,605 students while remaining the largest charter sector by enrollment.
- Alabama’s 62.8% growth rate came from a much smaller starting base than the largest state sectors.
What the State Distribution Shows
The measures answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable rankings.
Total Enrollment and System Share
A high student count often reflects a large statewide public-school population. Charter share measures the sector’s position inside that public system, which can place smaller jurisdictions near the top.
Percentage Growth and Starting Base
Rapid percentage growth can result from opening a small number of schools in a young sector. Student-count change better captures the number of additional seats represented by the movement.
School Count and Average Scale
The number of charter schools does not measure campus size, classroom size or network structure. The 2024–25 school-count column is not combined with 2022–23 enrollment to derive a students-per-school measure.
Enrollment Is Not an Outcome Measure
Enrollment, market share and growth describe participation. They do not establish academic performance, access, finance quality or the reasons families selected a school.
Source Years and Charter Definitions
Enrollment Source
NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 216.90, based on the Common Core of Data Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey.
Operating School Source
NCES CCD Table 3, 2024–25, Final Version 1a, reports 8,048 operating charter schools among 99,073 operating public schools in the 50 states and District of Columbia.
Source Period
Enrollment rankings, enrollment shares and annual enrollment changes use the NCES series through 2022–23. Operating charter-school counts use school year 2024–25, Final Version 1a.
Coverage
All 50 states and the District of Columbia are retained. Bureau of Indian Education, Department of Defense and other U.S. jurisdictions are outside the 51-row state table.
Enrollment Measure
Fall charter enrollment is based on the sum of known race and ethnicity totals reported by public schools. Charter schools remain included within public-school totals.
Ranking Method
Numeric 2022–23 enrollment values are sorted from highest to lowest. Jurisdictions marked not applicable by NCES receive no rank. Kentucky’s reported zero remains a numeric observation.
Change Calculation
Student change equals 2022–23 enrollment minus 2021–22 enrollment. Percentage change uses 2021–22 as the denominator. West Virginia is labeled “New” because the starting value was zero.
Rounding
Enrollment and school counts are shown as whole numbers. Enrollment shares and change rates are rounded to one decimal place. The 8.1% national operating-school share is calculated from 8,048 charter schools divided by 99,073 operating public schools. Iowa’s 2022–23 charter enrollment share is displayed as less than 0.1% because the source rounds it to zero.
Federal Data Program
NCES Common Core of Data provides the federal administrative data system used for public schools, local education agencies and state education systems.
State charter laws, authorizing structures, virtual-school reporting and campus definitions differ. The table retains the 2022–23 enrollment series while updating operating charter-school counts to 2024–25; the two periods are not combined into a students-per-school measure. The page year should not be read as a 2025–26 enrollment estimate.