Kansas runs 1,354 public schools across 290 districts, with a 14.4:1 average classroom and 42.7% of students on subsidized lunch.
1,354
public schools
290
school districts
14.4:1
avg student–teacher
42.7%
free/reduced lunch
What the NCES Data Says About Kansas Schools
Kansas operates 1,354 public K-12 schools organised into 290 independent school districts serving 478,187 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Wichita, enrolls 46,796 pupils across 88 schools at $15,361 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 14.4:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 42.7% across Kansas 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.
Kansas's average class size vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means smaller classes)
14smaller classes than 49% of 51 US states
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
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.
Kansas per-pupil spending varies 13.3× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Kansas ranges from $7,257 (lowest district) to $96,590 (highest), a spread of $89,333. That ratio is among the widest in the country and predicts large gaps in class size, programme availability, and counselor:student ratios that compound across a 12-year K-12 career. 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.
Average Kansas student-teacher ratio is 14.4:1 — 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.
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 Kansas data
Kansas's 1,354 schools sit inside 290 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 Kansas 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 Kansas?
Kansas has 1,354 public schools across 290 school districts, serving 478,187 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Kansas?
The average student-teacher ratio in Kansas public schools is 14.4:1. This varies by district — use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of Kansas students qualify for free lunch?
42.7% of students in Kansas qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in Kansas?
The largest school district in Kansas is Wichita with 46,796 students across 88 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across Kansas districts?
Kansas districts spend between $7,257 and $96,590 per pupil — a 13.3× range. Most U.S. states fund schools through a mix of state aid (typically 40-60%), local property tax (30-50%), and federal Title I (5-15%). Districts in higher property-value areas raise more per pupil from local taxes, while state aid is intended to partially equalise but rarely closes the full gap. The federal F-33 finance survey reports actual current expenditures including instructional and support services.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Andover Ecademy
3,617
Andover Ecademy
3,617 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Andover, KS
East High
2,435
East High
2,435 students
67.3% of the leader · rank #2 · Wichita, KS
Dodge City High School
2,178
Dodge City High School
2,178 students
60.2% of the leader · rank #3 · Dodge City, KS
Derby High School
2,172
Derby High School
2,172 students
60.0% of the leader · rank #4 · Derby, KS
Manhattan High School …
2,087
Manhattan High School West/East Campus
2,087 students
57.7% of the leader · rank #5 · Manhattan, KS
Southeast High
2,066
Southeast High
2,066 students
57.1% of the leader · rank #6 · Wichita, KS
North High
2,041
North High
2,041 students
56.4% of the leader · rank #7 · Wichita, KS
Olathe North Sr High
2,011
Olathe North Sr High
2,011 students
55.6% of the leader · rank #8 · Olathe, KS
What this shows The largest public schools in Kansas by enrollment — often statewide virtual academies or large consolidated campuses, so size here reflects reach, not quality.
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.