Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for New York - 1,064 districts, drawn straight from federal records.
Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher
Scored 0-100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores - the same index shown on every school page, averaged across 4,801 scored New York schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
New York runs 4,812 public schools across 1,064 districts, with a 11.8:1 average classroom and 56.2% of students on subsidized lunch.
4,812
public schools
1,064
school districts
11.8:1
avg student–teacher
56.2%
free/reduced lunch
How New York ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$28,120
#3of 51 · highest-spending
Average student-teacher ratio
11.8:1
#4of 51 · lowest ratios
Public schools
4,812
#3of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
56.2%
#15of 43 · highest share
New York ranks #3 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #4 of 51 on average student-teacher ratio, 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 New York Schools
New York operates 4,812 public K-12 schools organised into 1,064 independent school districts serving 2,505,133 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, New York City Geographic District #31, enrolls 60,306 pupils across 74 schools, 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 11.8:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 56.2% across New York 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, student-teacher ratio, 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 (FY 2022-23). 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.
New York's average student-teacher ratio vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means more staffing per student)
12Among the lowest ratioslower student-teacher ratio than 86% 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, transparent formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal survey data - enrollment, staffing, finance, and demographics from NCES. The diversity index and composite quality scores referenced on this page are PlainSchools' own transparent derived indices (not an official NCES rating), computed directly from those datasets with the exact formula disclosed on our methodology page; every input number traces to a cited source. These figures describe reported resource allocation across a large, varied state - a starting point for comparing districts and schools, not a substitute for reviewing a specific school's own record.
New York per-pupil spending varies 65.2× across districts
Per-pupil spending in New York ranges from $1,472 (lowest district) to $96,000 (highest), a spread of $94,528. 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.
New York has higher-than-average Title I eligibility - 56.2% 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 majority eligibility 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.
New York operates 1,064 school districts, among the most fragmented K-12 governance structures in the country
Each district has independent budgeting, hiring, and curriculum authority. The fragmentation predates modern county-level consolidation efforts and reflects 19th-century township governance patterns, a feature of states that organised public schooling around small civic units rather than centralised state systems. Per-pupil spending and accountability variations are largest in fragmented states because each district sets its own tax rate, contracts, and programme mix without state-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Average New York student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1 - 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.
New York's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 45.5/100, above the national average of 43.5. The index runs 0-100 from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality. See where New York ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
By total K-12 enrollment, NCES Common Core 2024-25
students
New York City Geographic Distr…
60,306
New York City Geographic District #31
60,306 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · 74 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
54,995
New York City Geographic District # 2
54,995 students
91.2% of the leader · rank #2 · 118 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
51,074
New York City Geographic District #24
51,074 students
84.7% of the leader · rank #3 · 57 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
46,722
New York City Geographic District #20
46,722 students
77.5% of the leader · rank #4 · 45 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
44,885
New York City Geographic District #10
44,885 students
74.4% of the leader · rank #5 · 84 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
41,385
New York City Geographic District #27
41,385 students
68.6% of the leader · rank #6 · 63 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
37,139
New York City Geographic District #28
37,139 students
61.6% of the leader · rank #7 · 50 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
36,007
New York City Geographic District #30
36,007 students
59.7% of the leader · rank #8 · 51 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
34,704
New York City Geographic District #25
34,704 students
57.5% of the leader · rank #9 · 46 schools
New York City Geographic Distr…
34,421
New York City Geographic District #21
34,421 students
57.1% of the leader · rank #10 · 40 schools
What this shows New York City Geographic District #31 is the largest district, with 60,306 students across 74 schools. The full ranked district list follows.
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 New York data
New York's 4,812 schools sit inside 1,064 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 New York 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 2022-23, CRDC 2021-22) - they lag the current school year. PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score used in our rankings is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many public schools are in New York?
New York has 4,812 public schools across 1064 school districts, serving 2,505,133 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in New York?
The average student-teacher ratio in New York public schools is 11.8:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of New York students qualify for free lunch?
56.2% of students in New York qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in New York?
The largest school district in New York is New York City Geographic District #31 with 60,306 students across 74 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across New York districts?
New York districts spend between $1,472 and $96,000 per pupil, a 65.2× range. This is an EXTREME spread even by U.S. standards, where most states show ratios well under 10×. A gap this wide usually signals a small number of outlier districts (often tiny rural or specialty districts) skewing the range rather than a uniform statewide pattern. 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
Brooklyn Technical Hig…
5,848
Brooklyn Technical High School
5,848 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Brooklyn, NY
Brentwood High School
4,816
Brentwood High School
4,816 students
82.4% of the leader · rank #2 · Brentwood, NY
Francis Lewis High Sch…
4,573
Francis Lewis High School
4,573 students
78.2% of the leader · rank #3 · Fresh Meadows, NY
Fort Hamilton High Sch…
4,044
Fort Hamilton High School
4,044 students
69.2% of the leader · rank #4 · Brooklyn, NY
James Madison High Sch…
3,983
James Madison High School
3,983 students
68.1% of the leader · rank #5 · Brooklyn, NY
Tottenville High School
3,750
Tottenville High School
3,750 students
64.1% of the leader · rank #6 · Staten Island, NY
Midwood High School
3,657
Midwood High School
3,657 students
62.5% of the leader · rank #7 · Brooklyn, NY
Newburgh Free Academy
3,550
Newburgh Free Academy
3,550 students
60.7% of the leader · rank #8 · Newburgh, NY
What this shows The largest public schools in New York 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.