Public schools in District of Columbia

The NCES directory lists 245 public schools operating in District of Columbia in 2024-25; 240 of them reported 92,916 students, averaging 11.0 students per teacher, tied for 46th with New Hampshire and Wyoming of the 50 states (D.C. included) that reported 2024-25 teacher counts; Tennessee did not. Its largest district is District of Columbia Public Schools, with 50,131 students in fall 2022.

NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23 · method

Schools240144 elementary, 42 middle, 43 high, 11 other
Students92,9160.2% of U.S. public-school students
Students per teacher11.0U.S. 15.3

District of Columbia has fewer students per teacher than the U.S. average

District of Columbia ranks 46th of the 50 states that reported 2024-25 teacher counts, counting from the most students per teacher; below, it is shown with the states ranked just above and below it. The full ranking of all 51 is on the states page.

  1. New Jersey11.6
  2. New York11.4
  3. Vermont11.1
  4. District of Columbia11.0
  5. New Hampshire11.0
  6. Wyoming11.0
  7. Maine10.9

Eight in ten larger District of Columbia districts spent between $24,063 and $31,629 per student

Among the 11 District of Columbia districts with at least 1,000 students, one in ten spent less than $24,063 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 and one in ten spent more than $31,629; the median was $27,018. The spread shows how far apart the state's districts are, which a statewide average hides.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: mean of school ratios from 3 to 99, schools open that year; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures over fall membership, districts with at least 1,000 students.

Largest districts in District of Columbia

  1. District of Columbia Public Schools50,131
  2. KIPP Dc Pcs7,361
  3. Friendship PCS4,609
  4. DC Prep PCS2,128
  5. Carlos Rosario International PCS1,984
  6. District of Columbia International School1,590
  7. Rocketship Education DC PCS1,493
  8. Center City PCS1,408

Lists for District of Columbia

Source: Largest districts: NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23, fall 2022 membership.

Cities with the most public schools

  1. Washington92,875 students239 schools

All cities →

Questions about District of Columbia's public schools

How many public schools are in District of Columbia?

The NCES directory lists 245 operating in 2024-25; 240 of them reported students: 144 elementary, 42 middle, 43 high and 11 other, enrolling 92,916 students (NCES Common Core of Data).

What is the average student-teacher ratio in District of Columbia?

11.0 students per full-time teacher in 2024-25, against 15.3 for the U.S.; the mean of school ratios for schools open that year.

What is the largest school district in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia Public Schools, with 50,131 students in fall 2022 (NCES F-33).

How much does District of Columbia spend per public-school student?

$30,462 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, summed over its districts (NCES F-33).

Sources

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership and staff files · 2024-25

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District membership and spending · FY 2022-23

Compiled from official source data by .