Washington Education Statistics 2026: Schools, Enrollment & Spending
Washington reports 1,098,219 public school students for the 2025–26 school year. Enrollment remains below the 2019–20 high, while the latest federal finance release places FY2024 current spending at $18,564 per pupil.
School totals depend on the reporting definition. NCES counted 2,543 operating public schools and 341 operating districts or local education agencies in 2024–25. Washington OSPI separately reports 295 legally organized school districts, eight state-tribal education compact schools, and nine educational service districts.
Washington Education Snapshot
The latest available reporting period is shown under each value. Academic-year enrollment and fiscal-year finance data are kept separate.
Public School Enrollment Since 2018–19
Statewide OSPI student headcount by school year
Enrollment reached 1,146,882 in 2019–20, fell sharply in 2020–21, and stands at 1,098,219 in 2025–26.
Enrollment Movement Since 2019
- The 2025–26 total is 48,663 students below the 2019–20 level, a difference of 4.2%.
- Enrollment is 6,876 students above the 2021–22 series low.
- The latest movement reversed the annual gains recorded from 2022–23 through 2024–25.
Washington Public Enrollment by School Year
Annual changes are calculated from the statewide counts published by OSPI.
| School year | Enrollment | Annual change | Change | Reporting basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 1,137,367 | Series baseline | Baseline | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2019–20 | 1,146,882 | +9,515 | +0.8% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2020–21 | 1,093,331 | −53,551 | −4.7% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2021–22 | 1,091,343 | −1,988 | −0.2% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2022–23 | 1,096,695 | +5,352 | +0.5% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2023–24 | 1,100,059 | +3,364 | +0.3% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2024–25 | 1,105,384 | +5,325 | +0.5% | OSPI statewide headcount |
| 2025–26 | 1,098,219 | −7,165 | −0.6% | OSPI live statewide headcount |
The Pandemic Drop and Partial Recovery
- The largest annual movement in the series occurred in 2020–21, when enrollment declined by 53,551 students.
- The three annual increases after 2021–22 added 14,041 students by 2024–25.
- The 2025–26 decline was smaller than the 2020–21 drop but ended the three-year upward sequence.
Schools, Districts, and Education Agencies
Federal directory counts and Washington legal district counts describe different sets of education entities.
| Entity or measure | Reported value | Period | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating public schools | 2,543 | 2024–25 | NCES schools providing services at the start of the school year |
| Operating public districts or LEAs | 341 | 2024–25 | NCES operating local education agency count |
| Washington school districts | 295 | Current OSPI directory | Legally organized local school districts |
| State-tribal education compact schools | 8 | Current OSPI directory | Schools governed through state-tribal education compacts |
| Educational service districts | 9 | Current OSPI directory | Regional agencies that provide services to districts and other LEAs |
| Additional public jurisdictions | 12 | Current OSPI directory | Technical college, ESD, state office, and specialist education jurisdictions |
| Largest legal school district | More than 55,000 students | Current OSPI profile | Seattle Public Schools in King County |
| Smallest legal school district | Fewer than 10 students | Current OSPI profile | Stehekin School District in Chelan County |
| Approved private schools | 566 | 2025–26 | Private schools approved by the Washington State Board of Education |
| Private schools reporting enrollment | 550 | 2025–26 | Approved schools that submitted annual enrollment data |
Why 341 and 295 Are Both Correct
- The 295 figure counts Washington’s legally organized school districts.
- The NCES total of 341 operating districts or LEAs uses a wider federal directory scope that can include charter agencies, tribal compact agencies, and other public education entities.
- The public school count of 2,543 comes from final 2024–25 NCES data rather than a 2025–26 estimate.
- District scale ranges from more than 55,000 students in Seattle to fewer than 10 in Stehekin.
Private School Enrollment and Reporting
Washington private school enrollment is collected annually by the State Board of Education. Reporting participation changes from year to year.
| School year | Approved schools | Reporting schools | Reporting rate | K–12 enrollment | Annual change | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | 551 | 485 | 88% | 65,270 | Series baseline | Baseline |
| 2020–21 | 499 | 454 | 91% | 67,142 | +1,872 | +2.9% |
| 2021–22 | 527 | 495 | 94% | 77,745 | +10,603 | +15.8% |
| 2022–23 | 560 | 538 | 96% | 81,435 | +3,690 | +4.7% |
| 2023–24 | 552 | 531 | 96% | 81,962 | +527 | +0.6% |
| 2024–25 | 565 | 510 | 90% | 81,822 | −140 | −0.2% |
| 2025–26 | 566 | 550 | 97% | 82,851 | +1,029 | +1.3% |
Private Enrollment Rose While Coverage Changed
- Reported private K–12 enrollment increased by 17,581 students, or 26.9%, between 2019–20 and 2025–26.
- The series recorded a small decline in 2024–25 followed by an increase of 1,029 students in 2025–26.
- Reporting participation rose from 88% to 97% across the period, so enrollment changes should be viewed alongside coverage changes.
- The private series is self-reported and does not establish how many public school enrollment changes resulted from movement into private education.
Washington K–12 Revenue and Spending
The U.S. Census Bureau FY2024 finance tables report revenue, expenditure, and current spending for public elementary-secondary school systems.
FY2024 Revenue by Source
Federal, state, and local shares of Washington public school system revenue
State sources supplied 65.6% of reported revenue, compared with 26.1% from local sources and 8.3% from federal sources.
State Revenue Dominates the Mix
- State revenue totaled $15.598 billion, about 2.5 times the local-source amount.
- Local revenue reached $6.217 billion.
- Federal revenue accounted for the smallest share at $1.965 billion.
Current Spending per Pupil
Washington compared with the West regional weighted average and nationwide average
Washington’s FY2024 figure was $398 above the West weighted average and $945 above the nationwide average.
Washington Above Two Spending Benchmarks
- Washington was 2.2% above the West regional weighted average.
- The state was 5.4% above the nationwide average.
- The comparison uses nominal dollars and does not adjust for regional price differences.
Per-Pupil Spending Comparison
Current spending covers operating costs for prekindergarten through grade 12 and excludes capital outlay and debt service.
| Benchmark | Current spending per pupil | Washington difference | Difference | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $18,564 | Reference value | Reference | FY2024 |
| West weighted average | $18,166 | +$398 | +2.2% | FY2024 |
| United States average | $17,619 | +$945 | +5.4% | FY2024 |
FY2024 Revenue and Expenditure Structure
Dollar amounts were converted from the Census Bureau’s thousand-dollar source values. Shares use the base named in the table.
| Category | Amount | Share | Share basis | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total elementary-secondary revenue | $23.779B | 100.0% | Total revenue | FY2024 |
| Federal revenue | $1.965B | 8.3% | Total revenue | FY2024 |
| State revenue | $15.598B | 65.6% | Total revenue | FY2024 |
| Local revenue | $6.217B | 26.1% | Total revenue | FY2024 |
| Total elementary-secondary expenditure | $23.549B | 100.0% | Total expenditure | FY2024 |
| Current spending | $20.330B | 86.3% | Total expenditure | FY2024 |
| Instruction | $11.665B | 57.4% | Current spending | FY2024 |
| Support services | $7.818B | 38.5% | Current spending | FY2024 |
| Other current functions | $0.847B | 4.2% | Current spending | FY2024 |
| Capital outlay | $2.389B | 10.1% | Total expenditure | FY2024 |
| Other expenditure | $0.830B | 3.5% | Total expenditure | FY2024 |
Instruction and Support Account for Most Current Spending
- Instruction and support services together represented 95.8% of current spending.
- Current spending made up 86.3% of total reported elementary-secondary expenditure.
- Capital outlay accounted for 10.1% of total expenditure but is excluded from the Census current-spending-per-pupil measure.
- Revenue-source shares and spending-function shares use different denominators and should not be compared as matching categories.
What the Washington Data Shows
The statewide measures describe enrollment scale, administrative structure, and reported finance without assigning causes to the observed differences.
Enrollment Has Not Returned to Its Peak
The post-2021 recovery lifted enrollment from its lowest point, but the 2025–26 count remains below the level reported before the 2020–21 decline.
Agency Definitions Change the Count
The OSPI legal district count and the NCES operating LEA count answer different administrative questions. Neither should replace the other without a definition label.
Public and Private Series Are Not Symmetric
Public enrollment is a statewide OSPI headcount. Private enrollment depends on voluntary annual submissions, and the reporting rate varies by year.
Finance Uses an Earlier Reporting Period
FY2024 finance figures predate the 2025–26 enrollment count. The current headcount should not be substituted into the Census spending-per-pupil calculation.
Data Sources and Measurement
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, statewide Report Card enrollment trend and current summary for 2018–19 through 2025–26. Open the official enrollment trend.
OSPI About School Districts directory for legal school districts, state-tribal compact schools, educational service districts, additional jurisdictions, and district-size examples. Open the OSPI district directory.
National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2024–25 final state summary. Open the NCES state table.
Washington State Board of Education annual approved-school and enrollment reporting table, updated February 2026. Open the private school data.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of School System Finances, state summary Tables 1, 5, 6, and 8. Download the official FY2024 tables.
U.S. Census Bureau FY2024 current-spending-per-pupil visualization for the West and nationwide averages. Open the regional spending chart.
OSPI fiscal enrollment reporting distinguishes student headcount from full-time-equivalent and annual-average measures used in apportionment. Open the fiscal FTE data display.
Enrollment changes were calculated from published whole-student counts. Census finance amounts were converted from thousand dollars to billions and rounded to three decimal places. Percentage shares and annual rates are rounded to one decimal place in visible tables and cards. Rounding can cause displayed components to differ slightly from displayed totals.
Academic year and fiscal year: The 2025–26 enrollment figures describe a school-year student count. The spending and revenue figures describe fiscal year 2024. They are not measurements from the same reporting period.
Headcount and FTE: OSPI Report Card enrollment is a student headcount. Washington school funding reports can use monthly FTE or annual average FTE. The measures should not be treated as interchangeable denominators.
Private school coverage: Private school enrollment is self-reported and is not independently verified by the State Board of Education. Changes in reporting participation can affect the year-to-year series.
Dollar basis: Census amounts are nominal. Current spending covers operational pre-K–12 costs and excludes capital outlay, debt service, and non-pre-K–12 programs.