Hawaii Department of Education

District-Level NCES Analysis

Hawaii Department of Education operates 295 public schools serving 170,209 students, placing it among the largest districts in Hawaii. The school portfolio breaks down into 214 combined, 41 middle, 35 high, 5 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 Honolulu County.

Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,420 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey. See how Hawaii compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 0.8% local, 84.7% state, and 14.5% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 100/100, ranked #1 of 1 in Hawaii against a state average of 100, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.

Academic infrastructure includes 41 of 295 schools offering Advanced Placement (500 AP courses district-wide), a 279.7:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 45.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 19.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 11.2% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Makalapa Elementary School, with a diversity index of 81.5/100.

Its largest campus is James Campbell High School, enrolling 2,890 students (2% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Niihau High & Elementary School, at 13 students, a 222x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.