How often schools expel students, by state
U.S. public schools reported 115,592 expulsions in 2021-22, 246.8 for every 100,000 students. The rate was highest in Kansas (1,036.8) and lowest in Rhode Island (6.8).
CRDC 2021-22 · per 100,000 students on CRDC enrollment · schools open in 2024-25 · this page first published · data checked · method
Expulsions per 100,000 students
- 6.8 to under 49.4
- 49.4 to under 111.1
- 111.1 to under 236.7
- 236.7 to under 362.9
- 362.9 and up
D.C. is one city system, so it is in the table but not ranked among the 50 states.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22: expulsions and enrollment by school.
Highest rate: the top ten
Lowest rate: the bottom ten
The question and the method
Expulsion removes a student from their school entirely, the most severe disciplinary action a school can take, and how often it is used varies widely by state. Across the 51 state systems with enough reporting students, how many expulsions are issued per 100,000 students?
Expulsions reported to the CRDC for 2021-22, summed over each state's schools open in 2024-25, divided by the same schools' CRDC 2021-22 enrollment and scaled to 100,000; states need 20,000 students.
Limits. A per-100,000 rate because expulsions are rare enough that a per-100 figure would round nearly every state to 0.0. It covers only expulsions, not suspensions, restraint or law-enforcement referrals. The counts are self-reported by schools for 2021-22, a year many schools were still returning to in-person learning, and states define expulsion differently.
Every state
All 51 as a table
| State | Rank | Expulsions per 100,000 students | Students (CRDC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 1 | 1,036.8 | 462,385 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 735.8 | 944,113 |
| Louisiana | 3 | 729.0 | 640,365 |
| Mississippi | 4 | 726.0 | 423,119 |
| Georgia | 5 | 487.9 | 1,677,906 |
| Alabama | 6 | 455.3 | 726,541 |
| Indiana | 7 | 440.0 | 1,014,918 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 439.7 | 733,864 |
| Florida | 9 | 373.0 | 2,751,480 |
| Illinois | 10 | 368.2 | 1,783,188 |
| Texas | 11 | 362.9 | 5,166,503 |
| Washington | 12 | 358.3 | 1,058,885 |
| Ohio | 13 | 330.0 | 1,630,669 |
| Nevada | 14 | 328.1 | 476,310 |
| Wyoming | 15 | 312.1 | 92,599 |
| Oklahoma | 16 | 286.8 | 642,547 |
| West Virginia | 17 | 274.7 | 244,230 |
| Nebraska | 18 | 261.3 | 313,799 |
| Arkansas | 19 | 246.1 | 472,245 |
| Kentucky | 20 | 243.5 | 639,315 |
| Missouri | 21 | 236.7 | 864,475 |
| New Mexico | 22 | 200.1 | 302,375 |
| Delaware | 23 | 197.2 | 136,950 |
| Connecticut | 24 | 178.7 | 486,768 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 162.0 | 1,489,576 |
| Wisconsin | 26 | 134.3 | 777,418 |
| Pennsylvania | 27 | 125.7 | 1,666,522 |
| Michigan | 28 | 124.5 | 1,383,560 |
| South Dakota | 29 | 123.1 | 140,533 |
| Montana | 30 | 119.9 | 154,232 |
| Colorado | 31 | 111.1 | 828,342 |
| New York | 32 | 108.5 | 1,641,732 |
| Oregon | 33 | 107.1 | 542,454 |
| District of Columbia | not ranked | 105.7 | 82,321 |
| North Dakota | 34 | 91.4 | 113,843 |
| New Jersey | 35 | 86.5 | 1,301,422 |
| California | 36 | 84.6 | 5,812,291 |
| Virginia | 37 | 64.0 | 1,217,861 |
| Idaho | 38 | 63.6 | 311,083 |
| Vermont | 39 | 60.4 | 74,555 |
| Arizona | 40 | 49.4 | 1,110,926 |
| Iowa | 41 | 48.2 | 476,923 |
| Massachusetts | 42 | 47.3 | 871,446 |
| Maryland | 43 | 44.1 | 867,768 |
| Maine | 44 | 38.9 | 161,808 |
| Minnesota | 45 | 38.6 | 848,873 |
| Alaska | 46 | 34.6 | 124,452 |
| Utah | 47 | 34.2 | 674,923 |
| Hawaii | 48 | 19.1 | 172,476 |
| New Hampshire | 49 | 11.7 | 163,029 |
| Rhode Island | 50 | 6.8 | 132,038 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22: expulsions and enrollment by school.
Related research
- 01Out-of-school suspension rate by state
CRDC 2021-22
- 02Reading school discipline data
What the CRDC counts
- 03All research
Every study
Sources
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection Discipline and enrollment by school · 2021-22