Colorado Education Statistics 2026: Schools, Enrollment & Spending
Colorado reported 870,793 public PK-12 students, 1,877 schools, and 179 school districts in the Colorado Department of Education 2025-26 state snapshot.
Finance values use U.S. Census Bureau Fiscal Year 2024 school system finance data. Colorado current spending per pupil was $15,908, ranking 28th among the 50 states and District of Columbia for that indicator.
Colorado Education Snapshot
Core school, enrollment, charter, staffing, and finance indicators use the latest available official source year for each measure.
Colorado School Finance Mix, FY2024
Revenue sources and expenditure categories are shown in billions of nominal dollars.
Colorado school systems reported $16.613 billion in elementary-secondary revenue and $16.353 billion in elementary-secondary expenditures in FY2024.
Chart analysis
- Local sources supplied $9.100 billion, or 54.8% of Colorado elementary-secondary revenue.
- State sources supplied $6.117 billion, or 36.8% of revenue.
- Federal sources supplied $1.396 billion, or 8.4% of revenue.
- Current spending accounted for $13.507 billion, equal to 82.6% of FY2024 expenditures.
- Capital outlay accounted for $2.143 billion, equal to 13.1% of FY2024 expenditures.
- Finance values are nominal and are not adjusted for Colorado regional price levels.
Colorado Schools, Enrollment, and Finance Indicators
The table separates school-year indicators from fiscal-year finance indicators because the official reporting periods are different.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Source year | Source | Method note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School districts | 179 | Count | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot district count. |
| Public schools | 1,877 | Count | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot school count. |
| Public PK-12 students | 870,793 | Students | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Pupil membership count. |
| BOCES | 6 | Count | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Boards of Cooperative Educational Services. |
| Charter schools | 262 | Count | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot charter school count. |
| Charter students | 136,627 | Students | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Equals 15.7% of CDE PK-12 membership. |
| Online students | 34,617 | Students | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Reported in the state snapshot. |
| Teachers | 54,767 | Staff count | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Statewide staff and classroom information. |
| Pupil-teacher ratio | 16:1 | Ratio | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | Statewide staff and classroom information. |
| Special education students | 119,443 | Students | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot student group count. |
| Multilingual learners | 99,385 | Students | 2025-26 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot student group count. |
| Attendance rate | 91.4% | Percent | 2024-25 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot attendance indicator. |
| Four-year graduation rate | 85.6% | Percent | 2024-25 | Colorado Department of Education | Anticipated Year of Graduation 2024-25. |
| Dropout rate | 1.6% | Percent | 2024-25 | Colorado Department of Education | State snapshot dropout indicator. |
| Census finance enrollment | 841,065 | Students | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Used in school finance tables; not the same count series as CDE pupil membership. |
| Elementary-secondary revenue | $16.613B | Nominal dollars | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Table value reported in thousands of dollars. |
| Elementary-secondary expenditure | $16.353B | Nominal dollars | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Includes current spending, capital outlay, and other expenditure. |
| Current spending | $13.507B | Nominal dollars | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Current spending total, reported in thousands of dollars. |
| Current spending per pupil | $15,908 | Dollars per pupil | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Per Pupil Current Spending amount from Census Table 20. |
| Current spending per pupil rank | 28 | Rank of 51 | FY2024 | U.S. Census Bureau | Rank among 50 states and District of Columbia for current spending per pupil. |
Table analysis
- Colorado PK-12 membership was 870,793 in 2025-26.
- Charter students represented 15.7% of statewide PK-12 membership.
- Current spending per pupil was $1,711 below the U.S. FY2024 value of $17,619.
- Current spending made up 82.6% of Colorado FY2024 elementary-secondary expenditure.
- CDE pupil membership and Census finance enrollment are separate official count series.
Enrollment and Spending Trends
Enrollment uses Colorado Department of Education school-year pupil membership. Spending per pupil uses U.S. Census Bureau fiscal-year PPCS values.
Colorado Public PK-12 Enrollment, 2019-20 to 2025-26
CDE statewide pupil membership by school year.
Colorado membership declined from 913,223 in 2019-20 to 870,793 in 2025-26.
Trend analysis
- The seven-year change was -42,430 students, or -4.6%.
- The largest one-year drop in this series was -30,024 students from 2019-20 to 2020-21.
- The latest one-year movement was -10,272 students from 2024-25 to 2025-26.
- Enrollment was nearly flat from 2023-24 to 2024-25, moving from 881,464 to 881,065.
Current Spending Per Pupil, FY2019 to FY2024
U.S. Census Bureau Per Pupil Current Spending values in nominal dollars.
Colorado PPCS rose from $11,030 in FY2019 to $15,908 in FY2024.
Trend analysis
- Nominal PPCS increased by $4,878 from FY2019 to FY2024.
- The five-year nominal movement was 44.2%.
- The latest one-year movement was 7.1% from FY2023 to FY2024.
- The trend is nominal; it is not adjusted for inflation or regional price differences.
Colorado Enrollment by School Year
| School year | Enrollment | Change | Percent change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 913,223 | Base year | Base year | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2020-21 | 883,199 | -30,024 | -3.3% | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2021-22 | 886,517 | +3,318 | +0.4% | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2022-23 | 882,933 | -3,584 | -0.4% | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2023-24 | 881,464 | -1,469 | -0.2% | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2024-25 | 881,065 | -399 | 0.0% | Colorado Department of Education |
| 2025-26 | 870,793 | -10,272 | -1.2% | Colorado Department of Education |
Table analysis
- 2025-26 is the lowest enrollment year in the displayed CDE series.
- The series high is 913,223 students in 2019-20.
- Enrollment stayed between 881,065 and 886,517 from 2020-21 through 2024-25.
- The latest decline moved Colorado below 875,000 students.
Colorado Current Spending Per Pupil by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal year | PPCS | Change | Percent change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | $11,030 | Base year | Base year | U.S. Census Bureau |
| FY2020 | $11,602 | +$573 | +5.2% | U.S. Census Bureau |
| FY2021 | $12,876 | +$1,273 | +11.0% | U.S. Census Bureau |
| FY2022 | $13,422 | +$546 | +4.2% | U.S. Census Bureau |
| FY2023 | $14,858 | +$1,435 | +10.7% | U.S. Census Bureau |
| FY2024 | $15,908 | +$1,050 | +7.1% | U.S. Census Bureau |
Table analysis
- FY2024 is the highest PPCS value in the displayed Census series.
- The largest one-year dollar movement was +$1,435 from FY2022 to FY2023.
- The largest one-year percent movement was +11.0% from FY2020 to FY2021.
- Colorado remained below the FY2024 U.S. PPCS value of $17,619.
Colorado FY2024 Finance Breakdown
| Category | Type | Amount | Share | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal sources | Revenue | $1.396B | 8.4% | FY2024 |
| State sources | Revenue | $6.117B | 36.8% | FY2024 |
| Local sources | Revenue | $9.100B | 54.8% | FY2024 |
| Current spending | Expenditure | $13.507B | 82.6% | FY2024 |
| Capital outlay | Expenditure | $2.143B | 13.1% | FY2024 |
| Other expenditure | Expenditure | $703.370M | 4.3% | FY2024 |
Table analysis
- Local revenue was the largest revenue source at $9.100 billion.
- Current spending was the largest expenditure category at $13.507 billion.
- Federal revenue was below 10% of total elementary-secondary revenue.
- Capital outlay was above $2.1 billion in FY2024.
Colorado Per-Pupil Spending Detail, FY2024
| Per-pupil measure | Colorado value | U.S. value | Colorado rank | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $19,752 | $21,456 | 26 | FY2024 |
| Federal revenue | $1,660 | $2,482 | 48 | FY2024 |
| State revenue | $7,273 | $9,705 | 38 | FY2024 |
| Local revenue | $10,820 | $9,269 | 13 | FY2024 |
| Current spending | $15,908 | $17,619 | 28 | FY2024 |
| Instruction | $8,497 | $10,346 | 32 | FY2024 |
| Instruction salaries and wages | $5,749 | $6,293 | 26 | FY2024 |
| Instruction employee benefits | $1,794 | $2,764 | 39 | FY2024 |
| General administration | $257 | $351 | 37 | FY2024 |
| School administration | $1,151 | $946 | 12 | FY2024 |
Table analysis
- Local revenue per pupil was $10,820, above the U.S. value of $9,269.
- Federal revenue per pupil ranked 48th among 51 jurisdictions.
- School administration per pupil ranked 12th, the highest Colorado rank in this table.
- Current spending per pupil ranked 28th, below the midpoint of the 51-jurisdiction ranking.
- Ranks apply only to the selected Census FY2024 indicator.
Colorado Data Notes
The notes below explain how the school count, enrollment count, and finance indicators should be read together.
Enrollment scale
Colorado served fewer than 875,000 PK-12 public students in 2025-26. The latest CDE series shows a lower count than every year displayed from 2019-20 through 2024-25.
District structure
CDE reports 111 small rural districts and 36 rural districts. Together, those 147 districts represent 82.1% of Colorado school districts but a much smaller share of statewide enrollment.
Charter scale
Charter enrollment reached 136,627 students in 2025-26. That equals about 15.7% of statewide CDE PK-12 membership.
Finance mix
Local sources supplied the largest share of FY2024 elementary-secondary revenue. Federal revenue per pupil was lower than most state-level jurisdictions in the Census ranking.
Per-pupil spending
Colorado current spending per pupil was $15,908 in FY2024. The U.S. value was $17,619, a difference of $1,711 per pupil.
Count systems
CDE pupil membership and Census finance enrollment are not interchangeable. CDE reports 2025-26 pupil membership; Census FY2024 finance tables use the Census school finance enrollment count.
Source and Methodology
Primary school and enrollment source
Colorado Department of Education, Colorado State Education Snapshot, updated January 2026.
Pupil membership source
Colorado Department of Education, Pupil Membership Statistics, 2025-26 statewide pupil membership counts.
Finance source
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data, Annual Survey of School System Finances.
Federal data program
U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, school revenue, expenditure, debt, and PPCS tables.
Dollar amounts from Census finance tables are nominal FY2024 values. Census summary tables report many finance totals in thousands of dollars; values were converted to billions or millions for display. Per-pupil values use Census-published PPCS values when available rather than recalculated values. CDE school-year enrollment and Census fiscal-year finance enrollment are shown as separate measures.
Colorado school-year membership, state snapshot indicators, and Census fiscal-year finance data come from different official reporting systems. Spending values are nominal and should not be read as cost-of-living-adjusted, inflation-adjusted, or outcome-adjusted measures.