The United States has 115,171 schools. These include traditional K-12 schools, special education schools for students with special needs, specialized career and technical schools, and adult education centers.
83% of schools in the United States are public schools, which are funded by the Government and offer free education to students.
Let’s take a detailed look at the number of schools in the US, the Number of schools by Grade, Public and Private Schools, Other types of schools, the number of schools by state, and more in this post.
Number Of Schools In The US (At A Glance)
- There are 115,171 schools in the United States as of 2024.
- There are 95,852 public schools and 19,329 private schools in the United States as of 2024.
- There are 26,727 public and private high schools in the United States.
- 64,311 are elementary schools in the United States as of 2024.
- There are 2,672 special education schools in the United States, while 410 schools are for adult education.
- The highest number of Public elementary and secondary schools in 2022 was in California, with 10,325 schools in the state.
- Delaware has the lowest number of public schools, with just 229 schools in the state.
- California has the highest number of K-12 students in the United States, with 6.86 million students enrolled.
How Many Schools Are In The United States?
There are 115,171 schools in the United States as of 2024.
These schools include all the K-12 public and private schools, adult education, and career and technical schools.
Source: MDR education.
There were 128,961 public and private K-12 schools in the United States in the academic year 2019 – 2020.
Of these, 88,909 were pre-kindergarten, elementary, and middle schools, while 27,155 were Secondary and high schools.
The following table displays the breakdown of the K-12 schools in the United States recorded in the academic year 2019 and 2020.
| K-12 School Type | Number of Schools |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten, elementary, and middle schools | 88,909 |
| Secondary and high schools | 27,155 |
| Other, ungraded, and not applicable/not reported | 12,897 |
Source: EdWeek.
Number Of Schools In The U.S. By Grade
64,311 are elementary schools in the United States as of 2024.
Meanwhile, the number of Senior high schools in the country is 20,318, and 11,518 schools are K-12 combined schools.
The following table displays the number of U.S. schools by grade level.
| Grade Level | Number of Schools |
|---|---|
| Elementary | 64,311 |
| Middle and Junior high | 14,677 |
| Senior High | 20,318 |
| K-12 Combined | 11,518 |
| Other | 4,347 |
Source: MDR education.
Public vs. Private Schools: A Breakdown
There are 95,852 public schools and 19,329 private schools in the United States as of 2024.
Country, State, and BIS schools are Public Schools, while Private schools comprise Catholic and non-Catholic schools.
Source: MDR education.
Public Schools In The United States
There are 2,709 magnet schools in the United States, and 719 of them focus specifically on STEM.
Magnet schools are usually included in the traditional public school system. They offer subjects that focus especially on STEM or performing arts.
Magnet schools make up approximately 1.8% of public schools as of 2024.
Source: MDR education.
Public schools in New York State spend the most on their pupils, with their spending reaching 24,040 per pupil.
The second highest spending is recorded in the state of the District of Columbia at 22,759 per pupil.
Other top states in which the public schools spend the most per pupil in the United States are Connecticut, New Jersey, and Vermont.
The following table displays the top states where public schools spend the most per pupil in the United States.
| State | Public School Spending Per Pupil |
|---|---|
| New York | 24,040 |
| District of Columbia | 22,759 |
| Connecticut | 20,635 |
| New Jersey | 20,021 |
| Vermont | 19,340 |
Source: Research.com.
Private Schools In The U.S.
8,427 charter schools are there in the United States as of 2024.
Despite being publicly funded, Charter schools are run privately. The state education laws do not bind these schools. They create their contacts known as charters.
Charter schools make up 7% of the schools in the United States.
Source: MDR education.
How Many High Schools Are There In The U.S. Total?
There are 26,727 public and private high schools in the United States.
23,882 high schools in the United States are public schools, while just 2,845 are private schools.
Most of the secondary high schools in the United States are in California, with the state accounting for 3,900 high schools.
On the other hand, the lowest high schools are in Delaware, with just 83 total secondary school institutions.
Further, according to the academic years 2023 and 2024, North Carolina’s Early College at Guilford is the top high school in the United States according to academics, diversity, graduation rates, etc.
Source: US News, What to Become.
How Many High School Students Are In 2024?
3.47 million students in the United States are estimated to graduate from high school in the academic year 2023-2024.
Of these, 3.2 million high school students are expected to graduate from public institutes, while 244.92K students are projected to graduate from private high school institutes.
The following table displays the number of high school students graduating from public and private institutes in the United States.
| Academic Year | Public Institutes | Non-Public institutes | Public and Non-public Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 3,081,361 | 221,452 | 3,302,813 |
| 2021-22 | 3,090,971 | 238,306 | 3,329,277 |
| 2022-23 | 3,128,459 | 239,694 | 3,368,153 |
| 2023-24 | 3,228,089 | 244,929 | 3,473,018 |
| 2024-25 | 3,262,503 | 246,001 | 3,508,504 |
| 2025-26 | 3,207,111 | 241,760 | 3,448,871 |
| 2026-27 | 3,118,880 | 236,726 | 3,355,606 |
| 2027-28 | 3,021,810 | 229,210 | 3,251,020 |
Source: Harvard.
Other Types Of Schools In The U.S.
There are 2,672 special education schools in the United States, while 410 schools are for adult education.
Special education schools serve students who have special needs like physical, behavioral, or learning disabilities.
Most students with disabilities prefer to attend normal schools, while some require special attention. 2% of the total number of schools in the United States are special education schools.
Besides, career and technical school helps students gain the skills required for jobs. They are usually replacements for high schools.
Additionally, adult education schools are made for adults interested in learning a new language, exploring topics, or earning a GED.
The following table displays the number of different types of schools in the United States.
| Type of Schools | Number of Schools |
|---|---|
| Career/Technical Education | 1,266 |
| Special education | 2,761 |
| Adult education | 410 |
Source: MDR education.
There are 49,220 Title 1 schools in the United States, while 46,613 are Non-Title 1 schools.
Schools that receive additional federal funding from the US Department of High Education are called Title 1 schools. A high percentage of students in these schools are from low-income families.
Approximately 43% of the public schools in the United States are currently qualified for Title 1 funding, accounting for 49,229 of the public schools.
Source: MDR education.
There are 353 Blue Ribbon Schools in the United States.
Blue Ribbon schools include both public and private schools in the United States that help to close the achievement gap for under-achieving populations or attain overall high academic achievement.
Source: MDR education.
There are 2,041 year-round schools and 989 Virtual schools in the United States.
Most schools in the United States hold classes for 180 days a year, while year-round schools hold courses throughout the year. These schools make up just 2% of the schools in the United States.
Besides, the virtual schools are held entirely online. Hence, students can attend classes and learn in an environment that suits their needs. These schools have gained immense popularity over the past years.
Source: MDR education.
Number Of Schools By State
California had the highest number of Public elementary and secondary schools in 2022, with 10,325 schools.
Texas and New York had the second-highest and third-highest number of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States.
On the other hand, Delaware has the lowest number of public schools, with just 229 schools in the state. The District of Columbia and Hawaii also have the lowest number of public schools in the United States, with 240 and 294 schools in the states, respectively.
The following table displays the States with the highest number of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States as of 2022.
| States | Number of Public Schools |
|---|---|
| California | 10,325 |
| Texas | 9,101 |
| New York | 4,802 |
| Illinois | 4,386 |
| Florida | 4,191 |
| Ohio | 3,659 |
| Michigan | 3,536 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,941 |
| North Carolina | 2,719 |
| Minnesota | 2,661 |
| New Jersey | 2,558 |
| Washington | 2,546 |
Source: Statista
Number Of School Enrollment In the US by State
California has the highest number of K-12 students in the United States, with 6.86 million students enrolled in the state’s schools.
Comparatively, 5.84 million students are enrolled in schools in Texas, and the state has the second-highest number of students enrolled in the schools.
Florida, New York, and Illinois are other States with the highest number of students enrolled in K-12 schools.
The following table displays the states in the United States with the highest number of students enrolled.
| States | Number of Students enrolled in the schools |
|---|---|
| California | 6.86 million |
| Texas | 5.84 million |
| Florida | 3.38 million |
| New York | 3.17 million |
| Illinois | 2.24 million |
Source: Research.com.
How Many Students Are Enrolled In Schools In The United States?
75.2 million students were enrolled in schools in the United States in 2022.
The total school enrollments in the United States witnessed a growth of 1.3 million from 2021 to 2022.
The number of students enrolled in schools has been the highest since 2019, when the total school enrollments in the United States were recorded to be 76.1 million students.
The total school enrollments have declined since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the enrollment count has been increasing steadily since 2021 but has not managed to surpass the enrollment count recorded in 2018 of 76.8 million.
Source: United States Census Bureau.
Here are some additional statistics related to school enrollments in 2022:
- The school enrollment rate for children aged 3 and 4 in nursery school or kindergarten was 53.3% in 2022. That was 13% higher than the enrollment rates recorded in 2020.
- 8.4 million students enrolled in nursery and kindergarten schools in the United States in 2022.
- 27.6% of the students who enrolled in elementary school and 29.4% of the students enrolled in high schools had at least one foreign-born parent.
- 70.4% of the students enrolled in elementary schools in the United States were white alone, 5.9% were Asian alone, 15.7% were Black alone, and 25.8% were Hispanic.
- 72.2% of the students who enrolled in high school in the United States were White alone in 2022. At the same time, 25.9% were Hispanic, 14.5% were Black alone, and 5.7% were Asian alone.
Source: United States Census Bureau.
Conclusion: There Are 115,171 Schools In The United States
This vast number of schools serves students and helps them nurture their future and build bright careers. Around 50.4 million students were enrolled in public and private elementary and secondary schools in the United States in the academic year 2020 and 2021.
Most of these students prefer to attend public schools; hence, over 8 in 10 schools in the United States are public institutes, and 17% are private and catholic institutes.
That was all about the number of colleges in the United States. Here are some of the related reads that you can check out.
