State profile · HI

Hawaii Public Schools

Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Hawaii — 1 districts, drawn straight from federal records.

295
Schools
166,973
Students
14.3:1
Avg ratio
40.0%
Free lunch

The state in one line

Hawaii runs 295 public schools across 1 districts, with a 14.3:1 average classroom and 40.0% of students on subsidized lunch.

295
public schools
1
school districts
14.3:1
avg student–teacher
40.0%
free/reduced lunch

How Hawaii ranks nationally

Per-pupil spending

$17,420

#19 of 51 · highest-spending

Average class size

14.3:1

#22 of 51 · smallest classes

Public schools

295

#48 of 51 · most schools

On subsidized lunch

40.0%

#27 of 43 · highest share

Hawaii ranks #19 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #22 of 51 on average class size, derived live by comparing it against every other state. Ranked among all 50 states + DC from NCES enrollment/staffing and the F-33 finance survey. Lunch share is an indicator of student need, not of quality.

What the NCES Data Says About Hawaii Schools

Hawaii operates 295 public K-12 schools organised into 1 independent school districts serving 166,973 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Hawaii Department of Education, enrolls 170,209 pupils across 295 schools at $17,420 per student, while smaller rural districts can run fewer than a dozen campuses. This fragmentation — inherited from century-old township governance patterns in many states — is why per-pupil spending, class sizes, and programme availability vary dramatically inside a single state boundary.

Statewide, the average student-teacher ratio is 14.3:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 40.0% across Hawaii public schools, a federal indicator of economic need that drives Title I funding allocations. The district table below is sortable by enrollment, school count, and per-pupil expenditure — the three fields that best predict a district's financial and demographic profile. For schools specifically, use the rankings links above to view per-category leaderboards covering spending, class size, best schools by composite quality score, chronic absenteeism, and funding-equity distribution within the state.

Every district figure here pulls from two distinct federal surveys: enrollment and demographic data come from the NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (school membership and directory), while per-pupil spending, teacher salaries, and federal/state/local revenue shares originate in the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey (typically FY 2021-22). Civil-rights indicators — gifted enrollment, AP course counts, counselor staffing, chronic absenteeism, in- and out-of-school suspensions — come from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Cross-referencing these three sources is what lets PlainSchools produce composite scores and equity rankings that single-source tools cannot.

Hawaii's average class size vs. every US state

Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means smaller classes)

14 smaller classes than 55% of 51 US states

11–12: 7 US states (14%). Below this entry. 12–13: 4 US states (8%). Below this entry. 13–14: 8 US states (16%). Below this entry. 14–15: 10 US states (20%). This entry sits in this band. 15–16: 5 US states (10%). Above this entry. 16–17: 4 US states (8%). Above this entry. 17–18: 4 US states (8%). Above this entry. 18–19: 5 US states (10%). Above this entry. 20–21: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 21–22: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 22–23: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. 23–24: 1 US states (2%). Above this entry. This state 11 24 every US state, by average class size, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25

Or browse all Hawaii schools

Federal data — no proprietary formula. PlainSchools publishes the actual federal survey data — enrollment, staffing, finance, and demographics from NCES — without a composite rating on top. The insights below are computed directly from those datasets; every number traces to a cited source.

Hawaii Department of Education accounts for 101.9% of all Hawaii K-12 enrollment

That concentration — well above the 8.4% national median for largest-district share — means state-level averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant district. Hawaii Department of Education operates 295 schools serving 170,209 students, spending $17,420 per pupil. When one district dominates a state's K-12 footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the state's students.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Local Education Agency (District) Universe Survey · 2024-25

Hawaii per-pupil spending varies 1.0× across districts

Per-pupil spending in Hawaii ranges from $17,420 (lowest district) to $17,420 (highest), a spread of $0. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually equalised funding system — most states have wider gaps. High-spending districts typically draw on higher property tax bases, a structural feature of state education finance under the federal Title I framework that sets the floor but not the ceiling.

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Local Education Agency Finance Survey (F-33) · FY 2021-22

Hawaii operates only 1 school districts — among the most consolidated K-12 governance structures in the country

Most Hawaii districts are countywide or multi-county systems. Consolidation produces narrower per-pupil spending variance because resources pool across larger student populations, but it can also mask intra-district inequities — school-by-school differences within a single district are not visible at the state-aggregation level. Consolidated states typically rely more heavily on state-level funding formulas than on local property tax variability.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Universe · 2024-25

Average Hawaii student-teacher ratio is 14.3:1 — near the U.S. average of approximately 16:1

Student-teacher ratio is the simplest staffing metric reported on NCES Common Core of Data, but it does not capture push-in specialists, intervention staff, English Language Learner aides, special education co-teachers, or counseling and support staff. Variation between districts within the state is wider than the state-average figure suggests — large urban districts may run 20:1 while small rural districts run 10:1, both inside the same average. Class-load comparisons are most meaningful at the district or school level, not the state aggregate.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data — Public School Universe School-level enrollment and staffing · 2024-25

School Spending

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Schools ranked by per-pupil expenditure

District Spending

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Districts ranked by per-pupil expenditure

Largest Schools

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Schools ranked by student enrollment

Funding Equity

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Districts ranked by funding equity score

Best Student-Teacher Ratios

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Schools with the smallest class sizes

Best Schools

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Top-rated schools by quality score

Best Districts

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Top-ranked districts by quality score

Chronic Absenteeism

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Schools ranked by absenteeism rates

Largest districts in Hawaii

By total K-12 enrollment — NCES Common Core 2024-25

Top district = 102% of enrollment
Hawaii Department of Education170,209
# District Enrollment
1 Hawaii Department of Education Honolulu 170,209

All 1 districts by enrollment. Browse all districts →

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 Local Education Agency Universe Federal universe survey of all U.S. school districts

Largest Schools in Hawaii

James Campbell High School
Ewa Beach — high
2,890
students
Waipahu High School
Waipahu — high
2,538
students
Mililani High School
Mililani — high
2,382
students
Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School
Honolulu — high
2,094
students
Moanalua High School
Honolulu — high
1,966
students
Hawaii Technology Academy - Pcs
Waipahu — other
1,924
students
Kapolei High School
Kapolei — high
1,836
students
Maui High School
Kahului — high
1,725
students
Mililani Middle School
Mililani — middle
1,635
students
Waianae High School
Waianae — high
1,551
students

Other States

District of Columbia
DC public schools
Florida
FL public schools
Georgia
GA public schools
Idaho
ID public schools
Illinois
IL public schools
Indiana
IN public schools
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25, NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.

Using the Hawaii data

Hawaii's 295 schools sit inside 1 districts — compare at the district level first.

  • District boundaries decide enrollment: shortlist 2-3 districts on spending, ratio, and size before comparing individual schools. Compare districts
  • Check how Hawaii distributes money across its districts — funding equity varies more within states than between them. Funding equity
  • Verify any school's federal record (enrollment, staffing, CRDC flags) before a visit or enrollment decision. Look up a school

Figures are the federal record (CCD 2024-25, F-33 FY 2021-22, CRDC 2021-22) — they lag the current school year and describe reported data, not school quality. PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many public schools are in Hawaii?

Hawaii has 295 public schools across 1 school districts, serving 166,973 students.

What is the average student-teacher ratio in Hawaii?

The average student-teacher ratio in Hawaii public schools is 14.3:1. This varies by district — use the district table below to compare.

What percentage of Hawaii students qualify for free lunch?

40.0% of students in Hawaii qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.

What is the largest school district in Hawaii?

The largest school district in Hawaii is Hawaii Department of Education with 170,209 students across 295 schools.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Top schools in Hawaii by enrollment

Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled

students

What this shows The largest public schools in Hawaii by enrollment — often statewide virtual academies or large consolidated campuses, so size here reflects reach, not quality.

Source NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) As of 2024-25

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) — Public school universe · 2023-2024 Public K-12 school enrollment, demographics, and operational data; collected annually by NCES from state education agencies.