Louisiana runs 1,330 public schools across 194 districts, with a 18.6:1 average classroom and 62.5% of students on subsidized lunch.
1,330
public schools
194
school districts
18.6:1
avg student–teacher
62.5%
free/reduced lunch
How Louisiana ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$16,376
#25of 51 · highest-spending
Average class size
18.6:1
#47of 51 · smallest classes
Public schools
1,330
#27of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
62.5%
#6of 43 · highest share
Louisiana ranks #25 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #47 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 Louisiana Schools
Louisiana operates 1,330 public K-12 schools organised into 194 independent school districts serving 674,456 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Jefferson Parish, enrolls 50,628 pupils across 82 schools at $16,675 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 18.6:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 62.5% across Louisiana 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.
Louisiana's average class size vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means smaller classes)
19smaller classes than 8% 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.
Louisiana per-pupil spending varies 7.7× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Louisiana ranges from $6,567 (lowest district) to $50,878 (highest), a spread of $44,311. That spread reflects typical state-level variation between high-property-value suburbs and rural or low-tax-base districts. 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.
Louisiana has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 62.5% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch
Free-lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), which replaced No Child Left Behind in defining how the federal government distributes K-12 supplemental funding. Districts above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. States with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local property tax base, which can either offset spending gaps or reinforce them depending on state allocation policy.
Average Louisiana student-teacher ratio is 18.6:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban systems or staffing constraints)
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. Higher ratios in this state may reflect urban district scale where one school enrolls thousands of students, or recent staffing shortages that have widened the headcount gap. 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 Louisiana data
Louisiana's 1,330 schools sit inside 194 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana?
Louisiana has 1,330 public schools across 194 school districts, serving 674,456 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Louisiana?
The average student-teacher ratio in Louisiana public schools is 18.6:1. This varies by district — use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of Louisiana students qualify for free lunch?
62.5% of students in Louisiana qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in Louisiana?
The largest school district in Louisiana is Jefferson Parish with 50,628 students across 82 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across Louisiana districts?
Louisiana districts spend between $6,567 and $50,878 per pupil — a 7.7× 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
University View Academ…
3,725
University View Academy Inc. (Frm La Connections)
3,725 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Baton Rouge, LA
Acadiana Renaissance C…
3,669
Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy
3,669 students
98.5% of the leader · rank #2 · Youngsville, LA
Denham Springs High Sc…
2,385
Denham Springs High School
2,385 students
64.0% of the leader · rank #3 · Denham Springs, LA
Bonnabel Magnet Academ…
2,376
Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School
2,376 students
63.8% of the leader · rank #4 · Kenner, LA
Kenner Discovery Healt…
2,263
Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy
2,263 students
60.8% of the leader · rank #5 · Kenner, LA
Louisiana Virtual Char…
2,239
Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy
2,239 students
60.1% of the leader · rank #6 · Baton Rouge, LA
The Willow School
2,225
The Willow School
2,225 students
59.7% of the leader · rank #7 · New Orleans, LA
Chalmette High School
2,193
Chalmette High School
2,193 students
58.9% of the leader · rank #8 · Chalmette, LA
What this shows The largest public schools in Louisiana 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.