Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Falls Church, Virginia - 199 schools
An equity score of 41/100 ranks Fairfax County Public Schools #85 of 131 districts in Virginia (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,975 per pupil, Fairfax County Public Schools ranks #16 of 131 Virginia districts by per-pupil spending (Virginia districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Fairfax County Public Schools operates 199 public schools serving 179,858 students, placing it among the largest districts in Virginia. The school portfolio breaks down into 147 combined, 25 high, 23 middle, 4 elementary schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Fairfax County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,975 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 131 Virginia districts by per-pupil spending. See how Virginia compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 66.6% local, 23.3% state, and 10.1% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 41/100, ranked #85 of 131 in Virginia against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 25 of 199 schools offering Advanced Placement (497 AP courses district-wide), a 330.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 15.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 36.0% White, 30.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Halley Elementary, with a diversity index of 77.8/100.
Its largest campus is Lake Braddock Secondary, enrolling 4,411 students (2% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Pimmit Early Childhood Resource Center, at 33 students, a 134x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Enrollment across the district's NCES-reporting campuses held roughly steady from 2022-23 to 2023-24 (179,858 to 180,714 students, +0.5%), per the NCES Common Core of Data annual universe files.
Of the district's $3,784,228,000 in reported FY2023 expenditures, 55.1% went to instruction, 32% to support services, and 7.4% to capital outlay, a fairly typical instruction/support/capital split for a public school district. Figures come from the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey's function-level breakdown, not the aggregate per-pupil figure above.
Fairfax County Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 33 students (lowest) to 4,411 students (highest), a spread of 4,378 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Fairfax County Public Schools is typically wider than the Fairfax County Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Fairfax County Public Schools is typically wider than the Fairfax County Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 199 schools in Fairfax County Public Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Fairfax County Public Schools's schools, above the Virginia average of 53.7.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Virginia districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince William County Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Loudoun County Public Schools | Smaller | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Virginia Beach City Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Chesterfield County Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Henrico County Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Fairfax County Public Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Prince William County Public Schools →Fairfax County Public Schools has 199 schools, including 147 combined, 25 high, 23 middle, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 179,858 students.
Fairfax County Public Schools spends $18,975 per student. The district has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #85 in Virginia.
Fairfax County Public Schools students are 36.0% White, 30.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 9.4% African American, averaged across 199 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Fairfax County Public Schools has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #85 out of 131 districts in Virginia.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.