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How many K-12 schools and school districts are there in the US
98,286 public schools were operating in the 50 states and DC in the 2024-25 school year, run by 19,091 school districts and other local education agencies.
7,977 of the public schools are charter schools. 13,232 of the districts are regular school districts and 4,204 are charter schools that report as their own district.
NCES estimates 30,553 private schools for 2023-24. Its public file names 22,510 of them; the estimate adds schools found through its area sample.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Schools and districts by state
| State | Public schools | Charter schools | Districts | Private schools named | Private schools estimated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 10,303 | 1,276 | 2,099 | 2,334 | 3,094 |
| Texas | 9,192 | 1,056 | 1,233 | 1,330 | 2,014 |
| New York | 4,810 | 350 | 1,110 | 1,233 | 1,672 |
| Illinois | 4,398 | 131 | 1,029 | 971 | 1,244 |
| Florida | 4,186 | 734 | 83 | 2,003 | 2,772 |
| Ohio | 3,543 | 339 | 1,061 | 1,006 | 1,371 |
| Michigan | 3,468 | 368 | 882 | 563 | 701 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,932 | 175 | 787 | 1,568 | 2,227 |
| Minnesota | 2,741 | 309 | 567 | 406 | 490 |
| North Carolina | 2,705 | 213 | 356 | 593 | 799 |
| New Jersey | 2,555 | 86 | 696 | 783 | 1,033 |
| Washington | 2,544 | 17 | 341 | 523 | 672 |
| Missouri | 2,464 | 82 | 566 | 501 | 732 |
| Arizona | 2,432 | 569 | 686 | 308 | 410 |
| Georgia | 2,329 | 96 | 253 | 620 | 894 |
| Wisconsin | 2,190 | 225 | 465 | 730 | 882 |
| Virginia | 2,126 | 7 | 209 | 653 | 885 |
| Indiana | 1,919 | 134 | 454 | 589 | 816 |
| Tennessee | 1,913 | 114 | 149 | 391 | 516 |
| Colorado | 1,900 | 260 | 273 | 272 | 378 |
| Massachusetts | 1,824 | 73 | 421 | 504 | 658 |
| Oklahoma | 1,781 | 73 | 579 | 140 | 177 |
| Kentucky | 1,550 | 0 | 177 | 271 | 368 |
| Alabama | 1,532 | 23 | 159 | 266 | 372 |
| Maryland | 1,408 | 50 | 25 | 542 | 724 |
| Kansas | 1,341 | 7 | 337 | 165 | 194 |
| Iowa | 1,318 | 7 | 338 | 186 | 226 |
| Louisiana | 1,308 | 146 | 189 | 282 | 399 |
| Oregon | 1,291 | 128 | 223 | 287 | 377 |
| South Carolina | 1,277 | 104 | 94 | 293 | 384 |
| Arkansas | 1,106 | 110 | 307 | 120 | 181 |
| Utah | 1,097 | 142 | 155 | 140 | 175 |
| Nebraska | 1,097 | 0 | 280 | 174 | 202 |
| Mississippi | 1,019 | 10 | 152 | 174 | 310 |
| Connecticut | 1,007 | 21 | 207 | 232 | 299 |
| New Mexico | 879 | 99 | 154 | 123 | 187 |
| Montana | 842 | 0 | 476 | 109 | 205 |
| Idaho | 796 | 84 | 191 | 117 | 150 |
| Nevada | 735 | 104 | 20 | 95 | 122 |
| South Dakota | 706 | 0 | 165 | 69 | 113 |
| West Virginia | 677 | 6 | 67 | 100 | 133 |
| Maine | 589 | 11 | 275 | 104 | 135 |
| North Dakota | 514 | 0 | 221 | 48 | 58 |
| New Hampshire | 501 | 42 | 212 | 134 | 173 |
| Wyoming | 360 | 8 | 62 | 29 | 35 |
| Vermont | 304 | 0 | 188 | 92 | 120 |
| Hawaii | 297 | 39 | <5 | 100 | 145 |
| District of Columbia | 245 | 125 | 71 | 51 | 72 |
| Delaware | 235 | 24 | 46 | 74 | 120 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 111 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 32 |
Public schools and districts: 2024-25, operating records only (closed, inactive and future records left out). Private schools: 2023-24. Puerto Rico, the other territories and Bureau of Indian Education schools add 1,164 public schools and are not in this table.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Public schools by level
| Level | Schools | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary | 51,809 | 52.7% |
| High | 23,431 | 23.8% |
| Middle | 16,054 | 16.3% |
| Other | 4,221 | 4.3% |
| Prekindergarten | 1,606 | 1.6% |
| Not reported | 394 | 0.4% |
| Secondary | 387 | 0.4% |
| Not applicable | 280 | 0.3% |
| Ungraded | 89 | 0.1% |
| Adult Education | 15 | 0.0% |
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Public schools by type
| Type | Schools | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Regular School | 89,496 | 91.1% |
| Alternative School | 5,357 | 5.5% |
| Special Education School | 1,858 | 1.9% |
| Career and Technical School | 1,575 | 1.6% |
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Districts and other local education agencies by type
| Type | Agencies |
|---|---|
| Regular public school district that is not a component of a supervisory union | 13,059 |
| Independent charter district | 4,204 |
| Service agency | 682 |
| Specialized public school district | 441 |
| Other local education agency | 231 |
| State operated agency | 183 |
| Regular public school district that is a component of a supervisory union | 173 |
| Supervisory union | 114 |
| Federal operated agency | <5 |
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Private schools by religious affiliation, 2023-24
| Affiliation | Named in file | NCES estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Other religious | 10,054 | 14,157 |
| Nonsectarian | 7,386 | 10,169 |
| Catholic | 5,070 | 6,228 |
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NCES Common Core of Data public school and school district directories, 2024-25; NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2023-24.
Cite this
ProfessionLens, How many K-12 schools and school districts are there in the US, September 2026, https://professionlens.com/schools.