State profile · MS

Mississippi Public Schools

Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Mississippi — 152 districts, drawn straight from federal records.

877
Schools
436,122
Students
13.4:1
Avg ratio
80.5%
Free lunch

The state in one line

Mississippi runs 877 public schools across 152 districts, with a 13.4:1 average classroom and 80.5% of students on subsidized lunch.

877
public schools
152
school districts
13.4:1
avg student–teacher
80.5%
free/reduced lunch

How Mississippi ranks nationally

Per-pupil spending

$11,990

#47 of 51 · highest-spending

Average class size

13.4:1

#13 of 51 · smallest classes

Public schools

877

#35 of 51 · most schools

On subsidized lunch

80.5%

#2 of 43 · highest share

Mississippi ranks #47 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #13 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 Mississippi Schools

Mississippi operates 877 public K-12 schools organised into 152 independent school districts serving 436,122 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Desoto Co School Dist, enrolls 35,003 pupils across 42 schools at $8,778 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 13.4:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 80.5% across Mississippi 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.

Mississippi's average class size vs. every US state

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

13 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 73% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 14–15: 10 US states (20%). Above this entry. 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 Mississippi 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.

Mississippi per-pupil spending varies 3.8× across districts

Per-pupil spending in Mississippi ranges from $8,778 (lowest district) to $33,364 (highest), a spread of $24,586. 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

Mississippi has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 80.5% 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.

Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility · 2024-25

Average Mississippi student-teacher ratio is 13.4:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or state-funded class-size reduction)

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. Lower ratios in this state often correlate with smaller per-school enrollments and rural geography rather than higher staffing budgets per se. 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 Mississippi

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

Top district = 8% of enrollment
Desoto Co School Dist35,003Rankin Co School Dist18,720Jackson Public School District18,710Harrison Co School Dist14,355Madison Co School Dist13,162Lamar County School District10,276Jackson Co School Dist8,906Jones Co School Dist8,524Tupelo Public School Dist7,132Vicksburg Warren School Dist6,862
# District Enrollment
1 Desoto Co School Dist Hernando 35,003
2 Rankin Co School Dist Brandon 18,720
3 Jackson Public School District Jackson 18,710
4 Harrison Co School Dist Gulfport 14,355
5 Madison Co School Dist Ridgeland 13,162
6 Lamar County School District Purvis 10,276
7 Jackson Co School Dist Vancleave 8,906
8 Jones Co School Dist Ellisville 8,524
9 Tupelo Public School Dist Tupelo 7,132
10 Vicksburg Warren School Dist Vicksburg 6,862
11 Pascagoula-Gautier School District Pascagoula 6,565
12 Lee County School District Tupelo 6,303
13 Gulfport School Dist Gulfport 6,113
14 Lauderdale Co School Dist Meridian 5,910
15 Ocean Springs School Dist Ocean Springs 5,861
16 Biloxi Public School Dist Biloxi 5,812
17 Lowndes Co School Dist Columbus 5,261
18 Clinton Public School Dist Clinton 5,211
19 Hinds Co School Dist Raymond 4,968
20 Starkville- Oktibbeha Cons Dist Starkville 4,894
Show the next 80 districts
# District Enrollment
21 Oxford School District Oxford 4,766
22 Meridian Public Schools Meridian 4,614
23 Petal School Dist Petal 4,392
24 South Panola School District Batesville 4,313
25 Pearl Public School District Pearl 4,216
26 George Co School Dist Lucedale 4,165
27 Hancock Co School Dist Kiln 4,060
28 Greenwood-Leflore Cons Sch District Greenwood 4,030
29 Scott Co School Dist Forest 3,989
30 Grenada School Dist Grenada 3,864
31 Hattiesburg Public School Dist Hattiesburg 3,667
32 Greenville Public Schools Greenville 3,542
33 Pontotoc Co School Dist Pontotoc 3,466
34 Picayune School District Picayune 3,431
35 Itawamba County School Dist Fulton 3,375
36 Pearl River Co School Dist Carriere 3,284
37 Alcorn School Dist Corinth 3,188
38 Canton Public School Dist Canton 3,166
39 Columbus Municipal School Dist Columbus 3,090
40 Neshoba County School District Philadelphia 3,038
41 Simpson Co School Dist Mendenhall 3,008
42 Union Co School Dist New Albany 2,980
43 Sunflower Cty Cons School District Indianola 2,929
44 Long Beach School Dist Long Beach 2,929
45 Wayne Co School Dist Waynesboro 2,900
46 Tishomingo Co Sp Mun Sch Dist Iuka 2,897
47 Lafayette Co School Dist Oxford 2,872
48 Natchez-Adams School District Natchez 2,842
49 Cleveland School Dist Cleveland 2,818
50 Lincoln County School District Brookhaven 2,795
51 Marshall Co School Dist Holly Springs 2,777
52 Laurel School District Laurel 2,712
53 West Point Consolidated School Dist West Point 2,609
54 Covington County School District Collins 2,609
55 Brookhaven School Dist Brookhaven 2,586
56 Holmes County Consolidated Sd Lexington 2,544
57 Leake Co School Dist Carthage 2,532
58 Louisville Municipal School Dist Louisville 2,523
59 Stone Co School Dist Wiggins 2,518
60 Corinth School Dist Corinth 2,490
61 South Tippah School Dist Ripley 2,485
62 Smith Co School Dist Raleigh 2,443
63 Pontotoc City Schools Pontotoc 2,302
64 Prentiss Co School Dist Booneville 2,278
65 North Pike School Dist Summit 2,245
66 Chickasaw Co School Dist Houston 2,214
67 Copiah Co School Dist Hazlehurst 2,205
68 Mccomb School District Mccomb 2,140
69 Forrest County School District Hattiesburg 2,129
70 Kosciusko School District Kosciusko 2,123
71 Monroe Co School Dist Amory 2,119
72 Clarksdale Municipal School Dist Clarksdale 2,118
73 New Albany Public Schools New Albany 2,114
74 Calhoun Co School Dist Pittsboro 2,080
75 Yazoo City Municipal School Dist Yazoo City 2,029
76 Tate Co School Dist Coldwater 2,014
77 Pass Christian Public School Dist Pass Christian 1,944
78 Poplarville Separate School Dist Poplarville 1,909
79 Marion Co School Dist Columbia 1,904
80 Webster Co School Dist Eupora 1,739
81 Lawrence Co School Dist Monticello 1,696
82 Newton County School District Decatur 1,688
83 Walthall Co School Dist Tylertown 1,684
84 Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist Bay St. Louis 1,672
85 Tunica County School District Tunica 1,671
86 Senatobia Municipal School Dist Senatobia 1,666
87 Columbia School District Columbia 1,646
88 Forest Municipal School Dist Forest 1,645
89 Greene County School District Leakesville 1,640
90 Western Line School District Avon 1,632
91 Quitman School Dist Quitman 1,593
92 Moss Point Separate School Dist Moss Point 1,569
93 South Pike School Dist Magnolia 1,557
94 Amory School Dist Amory 1,518
95 West Jasper Consolidated Schools Bay Springs 1,411
96 Noxubee County School District Macon 1,397
97 Hazlehurst City School District Hazlehurst 1,368
98 Booneville School Dist Booneville 1,321
99 Yazoo Co School Dist Yazoo City 1,320
100 North Tippah School Dist Falkner 1,286

Top 100 of 152 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 Mississippi

Tupelo High School
Tupelo — high
2,123
students
Grenada Elementary School
Grenada — other
2,044
students
Desoto Central High School
Southaven — high
2,004
students
Ocean Springs High School
Ocean Springs — high
1,928
students
Southaven High School
Southaven — high
1,876
students
Northwest Rankin High School
Flowood — high
1,855
students
Oak Grove High School
Hattiesburg — high
1,750
students
Gulfport High School
Gulfport — high
1,702
students
Biloxi High School
Biloxi — high
1,669
students
Brandon High School
Brandon — high
1,609
students

Other States

Massachusetts
MA public schools
Michigan
MI public schools
Minnesota
MN public schools
Missouri
MO public schools
Montana
MT public schools
Nebraska
NE public schools

Side-by-side: Compare Desoto Co School Dist vs Rankin Co School Dist → · Compare any two districts

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 Mississippi data

Mississippi's 877 schools sit inside 152 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi?

Mississippi has 877 public schools across 152 school districts, serving 436,122 students.

What is the average student-teacher ratio in Mississippi?

The average student-teacher ratio in Mississippi public schools is 13.4:1. This varies by district — use the district table below to compare.

What percentage of Mississippi students qualify for free lunch?

80.5% of students in Mississippi qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.

What is the largest school district in Mississippi?

The largest school district in Mississippi is Desoto Co School Dist with 35,003 students across 42 schools.

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

Top schools in Mississippi by enrollment

Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled

students

What this shows The largest public schools in Mississippi 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.