Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools.
303 public K-12 schools in Philadelphia from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Philadelphia has more public-school enrollment than 99% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Philadelphia is among the largest city school systems in this directory by enrollment, but its campuses are divided among 86 districts. That combination matters: citywide averages blend separate budgets, staffing policies, attendance boundaries, and program rules. For a family comparing schools here, the district column is as important as the city average; two nearby campuses may answer to different boards and draw on different F-33 funding pools.
A full K–12 ladder sits inside the city boundary
Philadelphia's list includes 131 elementary, 9 middle, and 57 high-school campuses, plus 106 combined-grade records. The city average spans every major grade stage, so the ranked table is more informative when read within level than as one interchangeable queue.
Economic need crosses separate district systems
95.6% of enrollment in reporting Philadelphia schools is eligible for free lunch, while the city list spans 86 districts. That pairing makes a citywide average especially easy to misread: the need measure follows students, but staffing decisions, calendars, program rules, and federal allocations are administered through separate district structures. The 63-point gap between Roxborough Hs and John B Stetson Ms shows how much reported resource capacity can vary inside the same municipal label. Compare schools within the same district first, then use the city view to see how those local systems differ.
City enrollment
Top 1%
School count
Top 1%
Resource Index average
24th percentile
Teacher staffing
60th percentile
Philadelphia school enrollment varies 47× across entities
Philadelphia school enrollment ranges from 73 students (lowest) to 3,463 students (highest), a spread of 3,390 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, with small specialty programs listed alongside large comprehensive campuses. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
The reported share is above 87.5%, so economic need is widespread across the measured student population. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Philadelphia operates 86 school districts — one of the single most fragmented governance structures in the country
Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority, and the sheer count here puts it in the extreme tail of fragmentation nationally. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Philadelphia student-teacher ratio is 14.6:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Philadelphia is typically wider than the Philadelphia-aggregate figure suggests.
85 of Philadelphia's 303 listed schools are charters
28% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Philadelphia
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
What do families ask about schools in Philadelphia?
Which Philadelphia school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼
Roxborough Hs has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Philadelphia schools in this federal-data comparison at 63/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
How many schools are in Philadelphia, PA? ▼
Philadelphia has 303 public schools with a total enrollment of 181,798 students. 85 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.6:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes:
verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
