U.S. Public School Enrollment by State 2026: Statistics & Charts
State enrollment values use NCES Common Core of Data fall 2023 counts from Digest 2024, the latest full state table with 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
The 2026 label marks the publication context. Enrollment counts below are not fall 2026 actual counts.
Enrollment Statistics
National and state-level counts are drawn from NCES Digest Table 203.20. Grade-span composition uses NCES Digest Table 203.10.
Data analysis
- Total public school enrollment across the 50 states and DC was 49,516,361 students in fall 2023.
- California and Texas together enrolled 11,456,631 students, or 23.1% of the U.S. total shown.
- The full table uses fall 2023 counts because a full fall 2026 state actual table is not available in CCD.
Largest Public School Enrollment Systems
Top 15 states by fall 2023 public elementary-secondary enrollment.
The chart is a visual summary. The table below includes all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
Chart analysis
- California ranks first with 5,924,113 students.
- Texas ranks second with 5,532,518 students.
- The top 15 states account for 66.0% of the U.S. state total shown.
- The enrollment gap between California and Texas is 391,595 students.
Full State Enrollment Ranking
Ranking is based only on fall 2023 public elementary-secondary enrollment count.
| Rank | State | Enrollment | U.S. share | 2022-23 | 2019-23 | Region | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 5,924,113 | 11.96% | -0.1% | -5.2% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 2 | Texas | 5,532,518 | 11.17% | 0.2% | 0.7% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 3 | Florida | 2,872,335 | 5.80% | 0.1% | 0.5% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 4 | New York | 2,533,449 | 5.12% | 0.0% | -5.9% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 5 | Illinois | 1,846,264 | 3.73% | -0.3% | -5.0% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 6 | Georgia | 1,749,701 | 3.53% | -0.1% | -1.1% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 1,692,829 | 3.42% | 0.0% | -2.3% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 8 | Ohio | 1,675,300 | 3.38% | -0.3% | -0.9% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 1,544,289 | 3.12% | 0.2% | -1.0% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 10 | Michigan | 1,426,491 | 2.88% | -0.5% | -4.6% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 11 | New Jersey | 1,392,567 | 2.81% | 0.6% | -1.4% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 12 | Virginia | 1,258,852 | 2.54% | -0.1% | -2.9% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 13 | Arizona | 1,117,630 | 2.26% | -1.3% | -3.0% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 14 | Washington | 1,093,745 | 2.21% | 0.3% | -4.2% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 15 | Indiana | 1,032,723 | 2.09% | -0.3% | -1.8% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 1,004,625 | 2.03% | -0.2% | -1.0% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 914,958 | 1.85% | -0.9% | -4.6% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 18 | Missouri | 891,248 | 1.80% | -0.1% | -2.1% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 19 | Maryland | 890,122 | 1.80% | 0.0% | -2.1% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 869,967 | 1.76% | 0.0% | -2.6% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 21 | Colorado | 865,661 | 1.75% | -0.6% | -5.2% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 814,202 | 1.64% | -1.1% | -4.8% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 793,860 | 1.60% | 0.6% | 0.9% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 24 | Alabama | 748,650 | 1.51% | -0.3% | 0.6% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 25 | Louisiana | 708,190 | 1.43% | -1.4% | -0.3% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 698,761 | 1.41% | -0.4% | -0.7% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 27 | Utah | 689,883 | 1.39% | -0.3% | 0.8% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 28 | Kentucky | 657,520 | 1.33% | -0.4% | -5.0% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 29 | Oregon | 572,624 | 1.16% | -0.8% | -6.2% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 30 | Connecticut | 512,652 | 1.04% | -0.2% | -2.1% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 31 | Iowa | 508,112 | 1.03% | -0.6% | -1.8% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 484,978 | 0.98% | -1.7% | -2.4% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 33 | Kansas | 483,505 | 0.98% | -0.9% | -2.9% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 34 | Nevada | 479,574 | 0.97% | -1.0% | -3.5% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 35 | Mississippi | 436,523 | 0.88% | -0.9% | -6.3% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 329,162 | 0.66% | 0.0% | -0.3% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 37 | Idaho | 316,414 | 0.64% | -0.4% | 1.7% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 311,719 | 0.63% | -1.0% | -5.9% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 39 | West Virginia | 246,883 | 0.50% | -1.7% | -6.3% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 40 | Maine | 172,545 | 0.35% | -0.8% | -4.3% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 169,308 | 0.34% | -0.5% | -6.5% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 166,594 | 0.34% | -1.4% | -6.1% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 43 | Montana | 149,291 | 0.30% | -1.0% | -0.4% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 44 | Delaware | 141,842 | 0.29% | 0.3% | 1.4% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 45 | South Dakota | 141,467 | 0.29% | -0.3% | 1.1% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 136,154 | 0.27% | -0.9% | -5.2% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
| 47 | Alaska | 131,243 | 0.27% | 0.4% | -0.6% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 119,033 | 0.24% | 0.4% | 2.5% | Midwest | Fall 2023 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 92,794 | 0.19% | 2.0% | 3.2% | South | Fall 2023 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 91,036 | 0.18% | -1.5% | -3.8% | West | Fall 2023 |
| 51 | Vermont | 82,455 | 0.17% | -1.4% | -5.0% | Northeast | Fall 2023 |
Table analysis
- The top-ranked state is California with 5,924,113 students.
- The smallest count is Vermont with 82,455 students.
- The top-to-bottom gap is 5,841,658 students.
- 18 states posted enrollment declines larger than 4% from fall 2019 to fall 2023.
- District of Columbia had the largest one-year percentage gain at 2.0%.
- West Virginia had the largest one-year percentage drop at -1.7%.
Enrollment Scale and Grade Span
Support modules summarize regional distribution, grade-span mix, and recent trend movement for the largest state systems.
Regional Enrollment Totals
Fall 2023 enrollment by Census region.
Regional totals sum the state rows in the main table.
Grade-Span Composition
National grade-span split from fall 2023 grade totals.
K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 spans exclude prekindergarten and ungraded counts.
Five-State Enrollment Trend
Fall 2019 through fall 2023 counts for the five largest state systems.
Trend values use the same NCES state table and are limited to the recent years shown there.
Trend analysis
- Texas moved above its fall 2019 count by fall 2023.
- California, New York, and Illinois remained below fall 2019 counts.
- The trend chart shows counts, not rates or school-age population shares.
| Region | States | Enrollment | U.S. share | Median state | Largest state | Smallest state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | 12 | 10,137,474 | 20.5% | 842,084 | Illinois | North Dakota |
| Northeast | 9 | 7,604,203 | 15.4% | 512,652 | New York | Vermont |
| South | 17 | 19,862,443 | 40.1% | 748,650 | Texas | District of Columbia |
| West | 13 | 11,912,241 | 24.1% | 479,574 | California | Wyoming |
Table analysis
- The South has the largest regional total at 19,862,443 students.
- The Northeast has the smallest regional total at 7,604,203 students.
- Regional totals are sensitive to Census region definitions and state population size.
| Grade span | Enrollment | Share | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|
| K-5 | 21.33M | 44.5% | Fall 2023 |
| 6-8 | 11.00M | 23.0% | Fall 2023 |
| 9-12 | 15.57M | 32.5% | Fall 2023 |
Table analysis
- The grade-span table covers 47.90M K-12 students after excluding prekindergarten and ungraded categories.
- K-5 is the largest span, with 21.33M students.
Enrollment Data Notes
The ranking measures system scale by student count. It does not measure access, performance, funding, or student need.
State size effect
Total enrollment is closely tied to population size. Large states rise in the ranking even when recent enrollment growth is flat or negative.
Recent movement
From fall 2019 to fall 2023, 18 states declined by more than 4%. The largest increases came from smaller systems.
Source-year limit
Fall 2026 state actual counts are not used. The full state table uses fall 2023 CCD counts from Digest 2024.
Excluded crosswalks
Under-18 population, urban/rural locale, and bubble-chart comparisons require Census or NCES locale tables matched to the state rows.
Source and Methodology
Ranks are calculated by sorting fall 2023 enrollment counts in descending order. Shares divide each state count by the 50-state plus DC total of 49,516,361. Percent changes compare the fall 2023 count with the source-table fall 2022 and fall 2019 counts. Grade-span composition sums grade-level national counts for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12; prekindergarten and ungraded counts are excluded from that module.
Official source links: NCES Table 203.20, NCES Table 203.10, and NCES Projections tables.
Enrollment rankings show student counts only. They should not be read as quality rankings, demand rankings, or school performance rankings. State reporting practices for prekindergarten can affect comparability across states and years.