Nebraska Education Statistics 2026: Schools, Enrollment & Spending
Nebraska reported 365,542 students across approved or accredited public, nonpublic, state-operated, and Educational Service Unit systems in the 2025–26 school year.
Public districts enrolled 328,148 students and operated 1,000 schools. The latest statewide per-pupil cost was $17,664.50 by average daily membership for 2024–25.
Nebraska Education Snapshot
Enrollment and school counts use Nebraska Department of Education fall membership data. Finance values come from district Annual Financial Reports.
Public Enrollment by Grade
Nebraska public school fall membership, 2024–25 and 2025–26
The chart covers all 14 reported grade categories from prekindergarten through grade 12. Public fall membership declined by 1,988 students between the two school years.
Chart analysis
- Grade 12 had the largest 2025–26 enrollment at 26,008.
- Prekindergarten had the smallest reported grade count at 19,599.
- Grade 12 recorded the largest increase, adding 1,110 students.
- Grade 1 recorded the largest decline, falling by 870 students.
- Seven grade categories increased and seven decreased.
- Total public membership fell 0.60% from 330,136 to 328,148.
Full Grade-Level Enrollment Table
The table reports every grade category included in the Nebraska public school fall membership totals.
| Grade | 2024–25 | 2025–26 | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 19,395 | 19,599 | +204 | +1.05% |
| Kindergarten | 21,703 | 21,275 | −428 | −1.97% |
| Grade 1 | 22,506 | 21,636 | −870 | −3.87% |
| Grade 2 | 23,332 | 22,533 | −799 | −3.42% |
| Grade 3 | 23,930 | 23,423 | −507 | −2.12% |
| Grade 4 | 23,715 | 23,923 | +208 | +0.88% |
| Grade 5 | 24,020 | 23,777 | −243 | −1.01% |
| Grade 6 | 23,728 | 24,007 | +279 | +1.18% |
| Grade 7 | 23,813 | 23,906 | +93 | +0.39% |
| Grade 8 | 23,743 | 23,939 | +196 | +0.83% |
| Grade 9 | 24,938 | 24,174 | −764 | −3.06% |
| Grade 10 | 25,510 | 24,936 | −574 | −2.25% |
| Grade 11 | 24,905 | 25,012 | +107 | +0.43% |
| Grade 12 | 24,898 | 26,008 | +1,110 | +4.46% |
| Public total | 330,136 | 328,148 | −1,988 | −0.60% |
Table analysis
- Public enrollment declined by 1,988 students in one year.
- Grades 1, 2, and 9 each declined by more than 750 students.
- Grade 12 grew by 4.46%, the largest percentage increase.
- Grade 1 fell by 3.87%, the largest percentage decline.
- Grades 6 through 8 each recorded modest enrollment growth.
- The four high school grades accounted for 100,130 students in 2025–26.
- Fall membership is a point-in-time count and differs from average daily membership used in finance calculations.
School Structure, System Membership, and Spending
The supporting modules separate school organization, district classification, student membership, staffing, and per-pupil cost measures.
Public Enrollment by School Type
Enrollment assigned to each operating public school category, 2025–26
Elementary schools served the largest number of students. School-type enrollment reflects the grade configuration of the building reporting each student.
Chart analysis
- Elementary schools enrolled 156,825 students, or 47.79% of public membership.
- High schools enrolled 84,737 students.
- Middle schools enrolled 58,423 students.
- Prekindergarten-only schools accounted for 5,958 students.
- Secondary schools served mixed secondary grade configurations and enrolled 22,205 students.
Public Schools by Building Type
| School type | Schools | Enrollment | Enrollment share | Enrollment change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-K only | 57 | 5,958 | 1.82% | +64 |
| Elementary | 536 | 156,825 | 47.79% | −2,496 |
| Middle school | 141 | 58,423 | 17.80% | +649 |
| High school | 111 | 84,737 | 25.82% | +28 |
| Secondary | 155 | 22,205 | 6.77% | −233 |
| Public total | 1,000 | 328,148 | 100.00% | −1,988 |
Table analysis
- Nebraska operated 1,000 public schools, two fewer than in 2024–25.
- Elementary buildings represented 53.6% of all public schools.
- Middle school enrollment increased by 649 students.
- Elementary enrollment decreased by 2,496 students.
- The number of high schools remained unchanged at 111.
Public District Classes and Staffing
| District class | Operating | Enrollment | Share | Teacher FTE | Members per teacher FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 86 | 18,095 | 5.51% | 1,995.43 | 9.07 |
| Class 2 | 106 | 48,799 | 14.87% | 4,328.87 | 11.27 |
| Class 3 | 50 | 167,192 | 50.95% | 11,717.17 | 14.27 |
| Class 4 | 1 | 41,967 | 12.79% | 3,166.88 | 13.25 |
| Class 5 | 1 | 52,095 | 15.88% | 3,245.48 | 16.05 |
| Public total | 244 | 328,148 | 100.00% | 24,453.83 | 13.42 |
Table analysis
- Class 3 districts enrolled 167,192 students, more than half of public membership.
- Class 2 contained the largest number of operating districts at 106.
- Classes 4 and 5 each contained one operating district.
- Class 5 reported the highest membership-to-teacher-FTE ratio at 16.05.
- Class 1 reported the lowest ratio at 9.07.
- The statewide ratio is descriptive and is not an average classroom size.
Membership by System Type
| System type | Operating systems | Membership | Statewide share | Teacher FTE | Certificated staff FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public | 244 | 328,148 | 89.77% | 24,453.83 | 38,671.16 |
| Nonpublic | 173 | 36,879 | 10.09% | 2,573.66 | 3,058.89 |
| State operated | 5 | 296 | 0.08% | 61.38 | 71.58 |
| Educational Service Unit | 17 | 219 | 0.06% | 86.64 | 607.69 |
| Statewide total | 439 | 365,542 | 100.00% | 27,175.51 | 42,409.32 |
Table analysis
- Public districts accounted for 89.77% of reported statewide membership.
- Nonpublic systems enrolled 36,879 students, or 10.09%.
- Statewide membership declined by 2,187 students from 2024–25.
- Public teacher FTE increased from 24,222.97 to 24,453.83.
- System categories use different organizational and reporting roles and should not be treated as equivalent district types.
Statewide Per-Pupil Cost
Nebraska district Annual Financial Report averages by attendance and membership denominator
Per-pupil cost increased under both measures in 2024–25. The ADA value is higher because average daily attendance is a smaller denominator than average daily membership.
Chart analysis
- Cost per average daily membership reached $17,664.50.
- Cost per average daily attendance reached $19,037.82.
- The ADM measure increased 2.67% from 2023–24.
- The ADA measure increased 2.46%.
- The 2024–25 difference between the two measures was $1,373.32 per pupil.
Per-Pupil Spending Table
| School year | Cost by ADA | ADA change | Cost by ADM | ADM change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | $18,580.68 | Baseline | $17,204.67 | Baseline |
| 2024–25 | $19,037.82 | +2.46% | $17,664.50 | +2.67% |
Table analysis
- The ADA measure increased by $457.14 per pupil.
- The ADM measure increased by $459.83 per pupil.
- Federal expenditures are included in Nebraska per-pupil cost calculations beginning with 2018–19.
- The values are nominal and are not adjusted for inflation or regional price levels.
What the Nebraska Data Shows
The indicators describe statewide scale, organization, staffing, enrollment movement, and reported cost. Each measure has a separate denominator and reporting period.
Enrollment Movement
Public fall membership decreased by 0.60%, while public teacher FTE increased by about 0.95%. Grade-level changes were uneven rather than uniform.
System Scale
Public systems enrolled nearly nine in ten students reported across Nebraska’s approved or accredited education systems.
School Distribution
Elementary buildings made up more than half of public schools and served 47.79% of public enrollment.
District Concentration
Class 3 districts enrolled 50.95% of public students. District classification is an organizational category, not a school quality measure.
Staffing Ratio
The statewide 13.42 members per teacher FTE measure divides fall membership by reported teacher FTE. It does not represent classroom size.
Finance Denominators
ADA and ADM per-pupil costs describe the same expenditure base with different student denominators. They should not be combined into a single spending value.
Source and Methodology
Enrollment and School Source
Nebraska Department of Education, Statistics and Facts About Nebraska Schools, 2025–2026
Prior-Year Comparison
Nebraska Department of Education, Statistics and Facts About Nebraska Schools, 2024–2025
Finance Source
District Finance Archive
Nebraska Department of Education, Per Pupil Cost Report Archives
Supporting Federal Reference
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data
Data Collection
Fall membership, district and school records, certificated personnel reporting, and district Annual Financial Reports.
Geographic Coverage
Nebraska public, nonpublic, state-operated, and Educational Service Unit systems. Interim program students are reported by resident districts.
Reporting Periods
School, enrollment, and staffing statistics use 2025–26. Per-pupil cost uses the 2024–25 Annual Financial Report.
Units
Student membership, operating systems, schools, full-time-equivalent staff, nominal dollars per ADA, and nominal dollars per ADM.
Rounding
Counts are reported as whole numbers. FTE values retain two decimals. Shares and changes are calculated from published counts and rounded to two decimals.
Fall membership is a reported enrollment count and is not interchangeable with average daily membership or average daily attendance. The members-per-teacher-FTE figures are calculated from statewide membership and FTE totals. Nebraska’s per-pupil cost measure is based on district Annual Financial Reports and should not be treated as identical to the U.S. Census Bureau current-spending-per-pupil measure.
The 2026 label identifies the publication context. Enrollment and staffing data cover the 2025–26 school year, while the latest finalized Nebraska per-pupil cost data cover 2024–25. Dollar values are nominal. Enrollment change, staffing levels, district class, and spending do not establish causes or measure school quality.