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U.S. Education Data

U.S. Public Schools by State 2026: Counts, Charts & Statistics

Operating public school counts are based on the NCES Common Core of Data final 2023–24 release. The 2026 label marks the publication cycle; the latest complete state table is school year 2023–24.

The count covers public elementary and secondary schools operating at the start of the reported school year. District of Columbia is included with the 50 states for a 51-jurisdiction state table.

Data type: School count Coverage: 50 states + District of Columbia Latest source year: 2023–24 Unit: Operating public schools Primary source: NCES CCD

School Count Snapshot

National totals and state distribution measures use the same NCES 2023–24 state summary table.

U.S. operating public schools
99,297
50 states + District of Columbia
Operating districts
19,186
School districts and agencies in the NCES table
Largest state count
10,326
California ranks first by operating schools
Smallest jurisdiction count
234
Delaware has the lowest count in the 51-row table
Median jurisdiction
1,348
Median count across 51 jurisdictions
Students per school
497.5
National membership divided by operating schools

State School Count Map Grid

Each state chip shows operating public schools in the NCES 2023–24 table. Color bins split the 51 jurisdictions into five ordered count groups.

234–682 712–1,101 1,270–1,832 1,905–2,558 2,696–10,326
AL 1,524 AK 494 AZ 2,427 AR 1,101 CA 10,326 CO 1,908 CT 1,010 DE 234 DC 245 FL 4,229 GA 2,327 HI 295 ID 801 IL 4,400 IN 1,917 IA 1,318 KS 1,348 KY 1,544 LA 1,316 ME 593 MD 1,408 MA 1,832 MI 3,485 MN 2,696 MS 1,032 MO 2,475 MT 821 NE 1,098 NV 762 NH 507 NJ 2,558 NM 888 NY 4,814 NC 2,716 ND 507 OH 3,577 OK 1,778 OR 1,296 PA 2,926 RI 312 SC 1,270 SD 712 TN 1,905 TX 9,217 UT 1,096 VT 306 VA 2,129 WA 2,553 WV 682 WI 2,224 WY 358

California and Texas form the highest count tier. Delaware and District of Columbia sit in the lowest tier by operating school count.

Map analysis
  • California has the largest count with 10,326 operating public schools.
  • Texas ranks second with 9,217 schools.
  • The highest bin contains 10 jurisdictions, from Minnesota through California.
  • The lowest bin contains 11 jurisdictions, from Delaware through West Virginia.
  • The top-to-bottom gap is 10,092 operating schools.

Largest 15 State Public School Counts

Horizontal bar chart of the 15 jurisdictions with the largest operating public school counts.

Top 5: California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida
Scale note: The chart is a visual summary; the full 51-row state table is the source of record.

The five largest states by count account for 33,986 operating public schools, or 34.2% of the U.S. total.

Chart analysis
  • California exceeds 10,000 operating public schools.
  • Texas is the only other state above 9,000.
  • New York, Illinois, and Florida form the next tier above 4,000.
  • The 15th-ranked jurisdiction, Arizona, reports 2,427 schools.

Full State Ranking by Operating Public Schools

The table includes all 50 states and District of Columbia. Ranks are sorted by operating public schools, with state name used as the tie-breaker.

Rank State Schools Districts Students Teachers Students / school Schools / district Pupil / teacher Region Year
1 California 10,326 2,108 5,837,338 268,195 565.3 4.9 21.8 West 2023–24
2 Texas 9,217 1,232 5,532,518 376,582 600.3 7.5 14.7 South 2023–24
3 New York 4,814 1,071 2,533,449 217,522 526.3 4.5 11.6 Northeast 2023–24
4 Illinois 4,400 1,031 1,846,264 136,492 419.6 4.3 13.5 Midwest 2023–24
5 Florida 4,229 82 2,872,335 155,800 679.2 51.6 18.4 South 2023–24
6 Ohio 3,577 1,057 1,675,300 100,659 468.4 3.4 16.6 Midwest 2023–24
7 Michigan 3,485 882 1,426,491 86,022 409.3 4.0 16.6 Midwest 2023–24
8 Pennsylvania 2,926 786 1,692,829 129,545 578.5 3.7 13.1 Northeast 2023–24
9 North Carolina 2,716 357 1,544,289 100,994 568.6 7.6 15.3 South 2023–24
10 Minnesota 2,696 574 869,967 59,181 322.7 4.7 14.7 Midwest 2023–24
11 New Jersey 2,558 698 1,392,567 118,031 544.4 3.7 11.8 Northeast 2023–24
12 Washington 2,553 342 1,093,745 62,552 428.4 7.5 17.5 West 2023–24
13 Missouri 2,475 565 891,248 69,786 360.1 4.4 12.8 Midwest 2023–24
14 Arizona 2,427 685 1,117,630 49,260 460.5 3.5 22.7 West 2023–24
15 Georgia 2,327 253 1,749,701 123,640 751.9 9.2 14.2 South 2023–24
16 Wisconsin 2,224 468 814,202 59,623 366.1 4.8 13.7 Midwest 2023–24
17 Virginia 2,129 208 1,258,852 94,035 591.3 10.2 13.4 South 2023–24
18 Indiana 1,917 444 1,032,723 67,374 538.7 4.3 15.3 Midwest 2023–24
19 Colorado 1,908 272 865,661 53,776 453.7 7.0 16.1 West 2023–24
20 Tennessee 1,905 148 1,004,625 66,417 527.4 12.9 15.1 South 2023–24
21 Massachusetts 1,832 424 914,958 77,630 499.4 4.3 11.8 Northeast 2023–24
22 Oklahoma 1,778 594 698,761 42,751 393.0 3.0 16.3 South 2023–24
23 Kentucky 1,544 177 657,520 42,972 425.9 8.7 15.3 South 2023–24
24 Alabama 1,524 156 748,650 42,858 491.2 9.8 17.5 South 2023–24
25 Maryland 1,408 25 890,122 62,754 632.2 56.3 14.2 South 2023–24
26 Kansas 1,348 337 483,505 37,167 358.7 4.0 13.0 Midwest 2023–24
27 Iowa 1,318 336 508,112 36,068 385.5 3.9 14.1 Midwest 2023–24
28 Louisiana 1,316 190 708,190 48,864 538.1 6.9 14.5 South 2023–24
29 Oregon 1,296 222 547,424 31,083 422.4 5.8 17.6 West 2023–24
30 South Carolina 1,270 96 793,860 57,243 625.1 13.2 13.9 South 2023–24
31 Arkansas 1,101 304 484,978 38,755 440.5 3.6 12.5 South 2023–24
32 Nebraska 1,098 279 329,162 24,052 299.8 3.9 13.7 Midwest 2023–24
33 Utah 1,096 155 689,883 33,537 629.5 7.1 20.6 West 2023–24
34 Mississippi 1,032 152 436,523 33,694 422.0 6.8 13.0 South 2023–24
35 Connecticut 1,010 208 512,652 43,104 507.6 4.9 11.9 Northeast 2023–24
36 New Mexico 888 153 311,719 21,596 351.0 5.8 14.4 West 2023–24
37 Montana 821 479 149,291 10,828 181.8 1.7 13.8 West 2023–24
38 Idaho 801 190 316,414 17,965 395.0 4.2 17.6 West 2023–24
39 Nevada 762 20 479,574 22,533 629.4 38.1 21.3 West 2023–24
40 South Dakota 712 165 141,467 10,315 198.7 4.3 13.7 Midwest 2023–24
41 West Virginia 682 65 246,883 18,688 362.0 10.5 13.2 South 2023–24
42 Maine 593 275 172,545 15,288 291.0 2.2 11.3 Northeast 2023–24
43 New Hampshire 507 212 166,594 14,494 328.6 2.4 11.5 Northeast 2023–24
44 North Dakota 507 221 119,033 9,639 234.8 2.3 12.3 Midwest 2023–24
45 Alaska 494 54 131,243 7,221 265.7 9.1 18.2 West 2023–24
46 Wyoming 358 61 91,036 7,452 254.3 5.9 12.2 West 2023–24
47 Rhode Island 312 67 136,154 10,735 436.4 4.7 12.7 Northeast 2023–24
48 Vermont 306 188 82,455 7,962 269.5 1.6 10.4 Northeast 2023–24
49 Hawaii 295 1 169,308 12,113 573.9 295.0 14.0 West 2023–24
50 District of Columbia 245 72 92,794 8,335 378.8 3.4 11.1 South 2023–24
51 Delaware 234 45 141,842 9,909 606.2 5.2 14.3 South 2023–24
Table analysis
  • The national table totals 99,297 operating public schools.
  • California and Texas together account for 19,543 schools.
  • Five jurisdictions report more than 4,000 operating public schools.
  • Seven jurisdictions report fewer than 500 operating public schools.
  • The median jurisdiction reports 1,348 schools.
  • Georgia has the highest derived students-per-school figure at 751.9.
  • Montana has the lowest derived students-per-school figure at 181.8.
  • Students per school and schools per district are derived ratios, not separate NCES table fields.

Regional and Distribution Statistics

Regional totals use U.S. Census Bureau region groupings applied to the NCES state-level table.

Operating Public Schools by Census Region

Regional totals aggregate state counts into South, Midwest, West, and Northeast.

The South has the largest regional count with 34,657 operating public schools.

Chart analysis
  • South accounts for 34.9% of operating public schools in the 51-row table.
  • Midwest ranks second with 25,757 schools.
  • Northeast has the smallest regional total at 14,858 schools.
  • The regional spread between South and Northeast is 19,799 schools.
Rank Region Jurisdictions Schools Share Districts Students Students / school Schools / district
1 South 17 34,657 34.9% 4,156 19,862,443 573.1 8.3
2 Midwest 12 25,757 25.9% 6,359 10,137,474 393.6 4.1
3 West 13 24,025 24.2% 4,742 11,800,266 491.2 5.1
4 Northeast 9 14,858 15.0% 3,929 7,604,203 511.8 3.8
Table analysis
  • The South has the most jurisdictions and the largest regional school count.
  • The Midwest has more operating districts than any other region, with 6,359.
  • The South has the highest regional students-per-school figure at 573.1.
  • The Northeast has the lowest schools-per-district figure at 3.8.
Band Jurisdictions Schools Share States
Under 500 7 2,244 2.3% Alaska, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, District of Columbia, Delaware
500–999 9 6,273 6.3% New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota, West Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota
1,000–1,999 18 25,701 25.9% Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Alabama, Maryland, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Oregon, South Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, Utah, Mississippi, Connecticut
2,000–3,999 12 32,093 32.3% Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington, Missouri, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Virginia
4,000+ 5 32,986 33.2% California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida
Table analysis
  • The 4,000+ band contains only 5 states but holds 33.2% of all operating public schools.
  • The 2,000–3,999 band contains 12 jurisdictions and 32.3% of schools.
  • The two highest bands together contain 65.5% of all operating public schools.
  • The under 500 band contains 7 jurisdictions and 2.3% of schools.
Group Rank State Schools Districts Students / school Region
Largest counts 1 California 10,326 2,108 565.3 West
Largest counts 2 Texas 9,217 1,232 600.3 South
Largest counts 3 New York 4,814 1,071 526.3 Northeast
Largest counts 4 Illinois 4,400 1,031 419.6 Midwest
Largest counts 5 Florida 4,229 82 679.2 South
Largest counts 6 Ohio 3,577 1,057 468.4 Midwest
Largest counts 7 Michigan 3,485 882 409.3 Midwest
Largest counts 8 Pennsylvania 2,926 786 578.5 Northeast
Largest counts 9 North Carolina 2,716 357 568.6 South
Largest counts 10 Minnesota 2,696 574 322.7 Midwest
Smallest counts 42 Maine 593 275 291.0 Northeast
Smallest counts 43 New Hampshire 507 212 328.6 Northeast
Smallest counts 44 North Dakota 507 221 234.8 Midwest
Smallest counts 45 Alaska 494 54 265.7 West
Smallest counts 46 Wyoming 358 61 254.3 West
Smallest counts 47 Rhode Island 312 67 436.4 Northeast
Smallest counts 48 Vermont 306 188 269.5 Northeast
Smallest counts 49 Hawaii 295 1 573.9 West
Smallest counts 50 District of Columbia 245 72 378.8 South
Smallest counts 51 Delaware 234 45 606.2 South
Table analysis
  • The largest-count group starts at Minnesota with 2,696 schools.
  • The smallest-count group starts at Maine with 593 schools.
  • Hawaii has one operating district in the NCES state table, so its schools-per-district ratio is not comparable with multi-district states.
  • Delaware, District of Columbia, and Hawaii are the only jurisdictions below 300 schools.

School Count Data Notes

School counts describe system scale. They do not measure school quality, program mix, facility size, or student outcomes.

Operating school definition

NCES counts operating schools and districts providing services at the start of the reported school year. Closed, inactive, or planned schools are outside this measure.

Count versus enrollment

A state can rank high by enrollment without the same rank by school count. Students-per-school ratios help show scale differences but do not describe classroom size.

District structure effect

Single-district states, county-based systems, and charter-heavy systems can produce very different schools-per-district ratios.

Publication-cycle label

The 2026 title uses the current publication cycle. The source year remains the NCES final 2023–24 school year table.

Source and Methodology

Primary data sourceU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, state summary table for school year 2023–24.NCES CCD Table 2
School-type referenceNCES CCD table on operating public elementary and secondary schools by school type, charter status, and state.NCES CCD Table 3
Survey filesPublic Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey, Local Education Agency Universe Survey, and State Nonfiscal Survey, Final Version 1a.NCES CCD data files
Regional groupingU.S. Census Bureau region groupings: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.Census regions reference

Rows cover the 50 states and District of Columbia. Ranks sort by the number of operating public elementary and secondary schools, descending; state name breaks ties. Students-per-school equals student membership divided by operating schools. Schools-per-district equals operating schools divided by operating districts. Regional totals are computed from state rows after assigning each jurisdiction to a Census region. Values are rounded only in displayed derived ratios.

Student membership and teacher counts come from NCES state education agency files. Teachers are full-time equivalent counts. Student membership excludes adult education students. U.S. totals include 50 states and District of Columbia.

Methodological Safety Note

Operating public school counts are administrative counts, not quality ratings. Counts are affected by state governance, district consolidation, charter authorization, school-level reporting rules, and grade-span organization. The ranking should not be used as a performance ranking.