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U.S. Education Data

U.S. School Districts by State 2026: Counts, Charts & Rankings

Operating district counts range from 1 statewide system in Hawaii to 2,108 operating districts in California. The 2026 reference view uses NCES Common Core of Data school year 2023–24 Final Version 1a data, the latest official table available for a complete 50-state plus District of Columbia comparison.

District count is a governance-structure measure, not an enrollment-size measure. Maryland and Florida report few operating districts because many systems are countywide, while several Midwest and Northeast states report many local agencies.

Data type: Operating public elementary-secondary districts Coverage: 50 states + District of Columbia Latest source year: 2023–24 Unit: District count Main visual: Horizontal bar + state grid

District Count Snapshot

Counts are reported by NCES as operating districts serving students at the start of the 2023–24 school year. U.S. totals below include the 50 states and District of Columbia only.

U.S. total
19,186
Operating districts across 51 state-level jurisdictions.
Highest count
California: 2,108
11.0% of the U.S. district total.
Lowest count
Hawaii: 1
A single statewide operating district in the NCES table.
Median jurisdiction
222
Oregon sits at the median count among 51 rows.
Top 10 share
52.9%
The 10 highest-count states account for 10,144 districts.
Average size
2,575.0 students
National membership divided by operating district count.

Largest State District Counts

The main chart shows the 20 states with the most operating districts. The complete 51-row ranking follows in the full table.

Top 20 states by operating district count

NCES CCD, school year 2023–24.

California, Texas, New York, Ohio, and Illinois form the highest-count group. The chart is a visual summary; the ranking table contains all states and District of Columbia.

Chart analysis
  • California ranks first with 2,108 operating districts.
  • Texas ranks second with 1,232 operating districts.
  • The top five states account for 6,499 districts, or 33.9% of the U.S. total.
  • The top 20 states account for 14,470 districts, or 75.4% of the U.S. total.
  • Oklahoma is the 10th state in the chart with 594 operating districts.

State grid by district-count band

Each chip shows the state abbreviation and the reported operating district count.

1–96 97–190 191–304 305–574 575+
AL156
AK54
AZ685
AR304
CA2,108
CO272
CT208
DE45
DC72
FL82
GA253
HI1
ID190
IL1,031
IN444
IA336
KS337
KY177
LA190
ME275
MD25
MA424
MI882
MN574
MS152
MO565
MT479
NE279
NV20
NH212
NJ698
NM153
NY1,071
NC357
ND221
OH1,057
OK594
OR222
PA786
RI67
SC96
SD165
TN148
TX1,232
UT155
VT188
VA208
WA342
WV65
WI468
WY61

The grid uses five count bands based on the full 51-row state distribution. It is a state-grid display, not a geographic boundary map.

Map analysis
  • The highest band, 575+, contains 10 states and 10,144 districts.
  • The lowest band, 1–96, contains 11 jurisdictions and 588 districts.
  • States with countywide or statewide systems appear in the lower bands even when enrollment is large.
  • The middle band, 191–304, includes 10 states with 2,454 districts.

Full State Ranking of Operating School Districts

Ranking order uses operating district count only. Tied counts are ordered alphabetically to keep a stable 1–51 display.

Rank State Code Region Districts Schools Membership Students per district Schools per district Pupil/teacher ratio
1CaliforniaCAWest2,10810,3265,837,3382,769.14.9021.8
2TexasTXSouth1,2329,2175,532,5184,490.77.4814.7
3New YorkNYNortheast1,0714,8142,533,4492,365.54.4911.6
4OhioOHMidwest1,0573,5771,675,3001,585.03.3816.6
5IllinoisILMidwest1,0314,4001,846,2641,790.84.2713.5
6MichiganMIMidwest8823,4851,426,4911,617.33.9516.6
7PennsylvaniaPANortheast7862,9261,692,8292,153.73.7213.1
8New JerseyNJNortheast6982,5581,392,5671,995.13.6611.8
9ArizonaAZWest6852,4271,117,6301,631.63.5422.7
10OklahomaOKSouth5941,778698,7611,176.42.9916.3
11MinnesotaMNMidwest5742,696869,9671,515.64.7014.7
12MissouriMOMidwest5652,475891,2481,577.44.3812.8
13MontanaMTWest479821149,291311.71.7113.8
14WisconsinWIMidwest4682,224814,2021,739.74.7513.7
15IndianaINMidwest4441,9171,032,7232,326.04.3215.3
16MassachusettsMANortheast4241,832914,9582,157.94.3211.8
17North CarolinaNCSouth3572,7161,544,2894,325.77.6115.3
18WashingtonWAWest3422,5531,093,7453,198.17.4617.5
19KansasKSMidwest3371,348483,5051,434.74.0013.0
20IowaIAMidwest3361,318508,1121,512.23.9214.1
21ArkansasARSouth3041,101484,9781,595.33.6212.5
22NebraskaNEMidwest2791,098329,1621,179.83.9413.7
23MaineMENortheast275593172,545627.42.1611.3
24ColoradoCOWest2721,908865,6613,182.67.0116.1
25GeorgiaGASouth2532,3271,749,7016,915.89.2014.2
26OregonORWest2221,296547,4242,465.95.8417.6
27North DakotaNDMidwest221507119,033538.62.2912.3
28New HampshireNHNortheast212507166,594785.82.3911.5
29ConnecticutCTNortheast2081,010512,6522,464.74.8611.9
30VirginiaVASouth2082,1291,258,8526,052.210.2413.4
31IdahoIDWest190801316,4141,665.34.2217.6
32LouisianaLASouth1901,316708,1903,727.36.9314.5
33VermontVTNortheast18830682,455438.61.6310.4
34KentuckyKYSouth1771,544657,5203,714.88.7215.3
35South DakotaSDMidwest165712141,467857.44.3213.7
36AlabamaALSouth1561,524748,6504,799.09.7717.5
37UtahUTWest1551,096689,8834,450.97.0720.6
38New MexicoNMWest153888311,7192,037.45.8014.4
39MississippiMSSouth1521,032436,5232,871.96.7913.0
40TennesseeTNSouth1481,9051,004,6256,788.012.8715.1
41South CarolinaSCSouth961,270793,8608,269.413.2313.9
42FloridaFLSouth824,2292,872,33535,028.551.5718.4
43District of ColumbiaDCSouth7224592,7941,288.83.4011.1
44Rhode IslandRINortheast67312136,1542,032.14.6612.7
45West VirginiaWVSouth65682246,8833,798.210.4913.2
46WyomingWYWest6135891,0361,492.45.8712.2
47AlaskaAKWest54494131,2432,430.49.1518.2
48DelawareDESouth45234141,8423,152.05.2014.3
49MarylandMDSouth251,408890,12235,604.956.3214.2
50NevadaNVWest20762479,57423,978.738.1021.3
51HawaiiHIWest1295169,308169,308.0295.0014.0
Table analysis
  • The full table contains 51 rows: 50 states plus District of Columbia.
  • The top-to-bottom district-count gap is 2,107 districts.
  • The median jurisdiction reports 222 operating districts.
  • The average across state-level jurisdictions is 376.2 operating districts.
  • Hawaii has the largest students-per-district value because the table reports one statewide district.
  • Maryland reports 25 operating districts and 35,604.9 students per district, reflecting countywide district structure.
  • Florida reports 82 districts and 2.9 million student members.
  • District count should not be read as a school quality, finance, or outcome indicator.

Regional and Distribution Views

Regional summaries use U.S. Census region labels for state grouping. Distribution bands group states by reported operating district counts.

Operating districts by U.S. Census region

Regional totals sum the state-level rows from the full table.

The Midwest has the largest regional district count, while the South has the largest student membership total in the regional table.

Chart analysis
  • Midwest states report 6,359 operating districts.
  • West states report 4,742 operating districts.
  • South states and District of Columbia report 4,156 operating districts.
  • Northeast states report 3,929 operating districts.
Region States/DC Districts Share Membership Schools Students per district Schools per district
Midwest126,35933.1%10,137,47425,7571,594.24.05
West134,74224.7%11,800,26624,0252,488.55.07
South174,15621.7%19,862,44334,6574,779.28.34
Northeast93,92920.5%7,604,20314,8581,935.43.78
Table analysis
  • Midwest states hold 33.1% of operating districts and 20.5% of student membership.
  • South states and District of Columbia hold 21.7% of districts and 40.2% of student membership.
  • West states report 4,742 districts across 13 states.
  • Northeast states have the lowest schools-per-district regional value at 3.78.
Band States/DC Districts Share States in band
1–99 districts115883.1%South Carolina, Florida, District of Columbia, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Hawaii
100–199 districts101,6748.7%Idaho, Louisiana, Vermont, Kentucky, South Dakota, Alabama, Utah, New Mexico, Mississippi, Tennessee
200–399 districts143,82619.9%North Carolina, Washington, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska, Maine, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Virginia
400–699 districts94,93125.7%New Jersey, Arizona, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Wisconsin, Indiana, Massachusetts
700+ districts78,16742.6%California, Texas, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania
Table analysis
  • The 700+ districts band contains 7 states and 42.6% of all operating districts.
  • The 1–99 districts band contains 11 jurisdictions but only 3.1% of all operating districts.
  • The 200–399 districts band has the most jurisdictions, with 14 states.
  • The 100–199 districts band contains 1,674 districts across 10 states.

District Count Interpretation Notes

The count ranking reflects administrative structure. It does not rank school performance, funding levels, student outcomes, or district service area size.

Administrative structure

Some states organize public education through many local agencies. Others rely on countywide or statewide systems. The district count reflects that structure.

Enrollment scale differs

Low district counts can coexist with large enrollment totals. Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and Hawaii show this pattern in the table.

Regional pattern

The Midwest reports the largest district count. The South reports the largest student membership total, so count and enrollment scale move differently.

Source-year match

The title uses 2026 for the published reference year. The underlying official source year is school year 2023–24.

Source and Methodology

Primary source U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), Table 2: operating schools and districts, membership, teachers, and pupil/teacher ratio by state or jurisdiction, school year 2023–24.
Survey files Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey, Local Education Agency Universe Survey, and State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education, 2023–24 Final Version 1a.
Unit Operating public elementary-secondary districts serving students at the start of the reported school year.
Coverage U.S. totals and rankings include the 50 states and District of Columbia. Outlying areas, Bureau of Indian Education, and DoDEA rows are not included in the 51-row state ranking.
Derived fields Students per district equals student membership divided by operating districts. Schools per district equals operating schools divided by operating districts. Shares use 19,186 as the denominator.
Official links NCES CCD Table 2, 2023–24 · NCES Common Core of Data · CCD data files

Rows were ranked by operating district count in descending order. Ties were ordered alphabetically for a stable display. Student membership and teacher counts follow the NCES table note for prekindergarten through grade 13; adult education students are excluded. Teacher counts are full-time equivalents. District of Columbia is grouped with the South in regional summaries.

Methodological Safety Note

Operating district counts are structural counts. They should not be compared as school quality rankings or outcome rankings. The source table also notes that member LEAs within the New York City supervisory union are reported as a single LEA, so local governance rules can affect cross-state comparisons.