Nebraska runs 1,010 public schools across 251 districts, with a 13.6:1 average classroom and 30.9% of students on subsidized lunch.
1,010
public schools
251
school districts
13.6:1
avg student–teacher
30.9%
free/reduced lunch
How Nebraska ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$17,680
#18of 51 · highest-spending
Average class size
13.6:1
#17of 51 · smallest classes
Public schools
1,010
#33of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
30.9%
#35of 43 · highest share
Nebraska ranks #18 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #17 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 Nebraska Schools
Nebraska operates 1,010 public K-12 schools organised into 251 independent school districts serving 327,234 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Omaha Public Schools, enrolls 51,754 pupils across 111 schools at $14,202 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 13.6:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 30.9% across Nebraska 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.
Nebraska's average class size vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means smaller classes)
14Among the smallest classessmaller classes than 65% 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.
Omaha Public Schools accounts for 15.8% of all Nebraska 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. Omaha Public Schools operates 111 schools serving 51,754 students, spending $14,202 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.
Nebraska per-pupil spending varies 3.6× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Nebraska ranges from $9,704 (lowest district) to $35,158 (highest), a spread of $25,454. 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.
Average Nebraska student-teacher ratio is 13.6:1 - 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.
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 Nebraska data
Nebraska's 1,010 schools sit inside 251 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska?
Nebraska has 1,010 public schools across 251 school districts, serving 327,234 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Nebraska?
The average student-teacher ratio in Nebraska public schools is 13.6:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of Nebraska students qualify for free lunch?
30.9% of students in Nebraska qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in Nebraska?
The largest school district in Nebraska is Omaha Public Schools with 51,754 students across 111 schools.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Grand Island Senior Hi…
2,696
Grand Island Senior High School
2,696 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Grand Island, NE
Central High School
2,587
Central High School
2,587 students
96.0% of the leader · rank #2 · Omaha, NE
Millard North High Sch…
2,572
Millard North High School
2,572 students
95.4% of the leader · rank #3 · Omaha, NE
Millard South High Sch…
2,526
Millard South High School
2,526 students
93.7% of the leader · rank #4 · Omaha, NE
South High School
2,412
South High School
2,412 students
89.5% of the leader · rank #5 · Omaha, NE
Millard West High School
2,344
Millard West High School
2,344 students
86.9% of the leader · rank #6 · Omaha, NE
Westside High School
2,145
Westside High School
2,145 students
79.6% of the leader · rank #7 · Omaha, NE
Southwest High School
2,110
Southwest High School
2,110 students
78.3% of the leader · rank #8 · Lincoln, NE
What this shows The largest public schools in Nebraska 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.