Public schools in Paducah, KY
Paducah has 17 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 2 high, 3 middle, 9 elementary, 3 other, enrolling 8,880 students. They are run by 2 districts and agencies; McCracken County Schools runs 10 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 2 districts and agencies that run Paducah's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Paducah | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCracken County Schools | 10 | 6,968 | $13,196 |
| Paducah Public Schools | 7 | 3,119 | $15,048 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
2 high schools in Paducah, 2,742 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCracken County High School | 1,882 | 18.3 | 41.1% | McCracken County Schools |
| Paducah Tilghman High School | 860 | 15.2 | 56.9% | Paducah Public Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 middle schools in Paducah, 1,684 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Oak Middle School | 702 | 14.8 | 42.6% | McCracken County Schools |
| Paducah Middle School | 632 | 15.3 | 59.5% | Paducah Public Schools |
| Reidland Middle School | 350 | 14.9 | 59.7% | McCracken County Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
9 elementary schools in Paducah, 4,130 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Elementary School | 615 | 16.2 | 44.7% | Paducah Public Schools |
| Concord Elementary School | 606 | 15.5 | 46.5% | McCracken County Schools |
| Reidland Elementary School | 548 | 14.4 | 65.1% | McCracken County Schools |
| Hendron Lone Oak Elementary School | 498 | 15.6 | 47.0% | McCracken County Schools |
| Lone Oak Elementary School | 495 | 15.6 | 55.8% | McCracken County Schools |
| Lone Oak Intermediate School | 437 | 16.8 | 46.5% | McCracken County Schools |
| Morgan Elementary School | 369 | 12.4 | 84.8% | Paducah Public Schools |
| McNabb Elementary School | 334 | 11.9 | 89.8% | Paducah Public Schools |
| Reidland Intermediate School | 228 | 14.1 | 65.8% | McCracken County Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 other schools in Paducah, 324 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paducah Head Start Preschool | 251 | 13.9 | 86.1% | Paducah Public Schools |
| Choices Educational Center | 42 | 10.0 | 83.3% | Paducah Public Schools |
| McCracken Regional School | 31 | 31.0 | 12.9% | McCracken County Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Paducah's public schools compare with Kentucky's
The median Paducah school has 15.2 students per full-time teacher, about the same as the Kentucky median of 15.0. 82% of its schools ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, against 66% across the state. Its median school enrolls 495 students (state 437).
| Paducah | Kentucky | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 15.2 | 15.0 |
| Median school size (students) | 495 | 437 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | 82% | 66% |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 100% | 90% |
| Charter schools | 0% | 0% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 17 Paducah schools and the 1,381 Kentucky schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Paducah
- McCracken County SchoolsRuns 10 of Paducah's 17 public schools and spent $13,196 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$13,196
- McCracken County High School, the largest high school in Paducah1,882 students in 2024-25, 18.3 per teacher.1,882
- Compare McCracken County Schools with Paducah Public SchoolsPaducah's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in KentuckyKentucky's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Paducah addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in Kentucky
- Louisville157 schools
- Lexington74 schools
- Bowling Green36 schools
- Owensboro31 schools
- Ashland18 schools
- Elizabethtown17 schools
- Frankfort17 schools
- Georgetown15 schools
Questions about schools in Paducah
How many public schools are in Paducah, KY?
17 public schools with an address in Paducah were open in 2024-25: 2 high, 3 middle, 9 elementary, 3 other, enrolling 8,880 students.What is the largest high school in Paducah?
McCracken County High School, with 1,882 students in 2024-25 (McCracken County Schools).Which districts run Paducah's schools?
McCracken County Schools (10 schools), Paducah Public Schools (7 schools). A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25