Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Vermont - 116 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 288 scored Vermont schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
Vermont runs 289 public schools across 116 districts, with a 11.9:1 average classroom and 27.6% of students on subsidized lunch.
289
public schools
116
school districts
11.9:1
avg student–teacher
27.6%
free/reduced lunch
How Vermont ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$20,027
#14of 51 · highest-spending
Average student-teacher ratio
11.9:1
#8of 51 · lowest ratios
Public schools
289
#49of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
27.6%
#41of 43 · highest share
Vermont ranks #14 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #8 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 Vermont Schools
Vermont operates 289 public K-12 schools organised into 116 independent school districts serving 77,627 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56, enrolls 4,235 pupils across 5 schools at $23,370 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 11.9:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 27.6% across Vermont 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.
Vermont'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 84% 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.
Vermont per-pupil spending varies 5.1× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Vermont ranges from $9,041 (lowest district) to $46,111 (highest), a spread of $37,070. 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.
Average Vermont student-teacher ratio is 11.9:1 - 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.
Vermont's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 19.5/100, below 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 Vermont ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
By total K-12 enrollment, NCES Common Core 2024-25
students
Champlain Valley Unified Union…
4,235
Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56
4,235 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · 5 schools
Essex Westford Educational Com…
3,767
Essex Westford Educational Community Unified Union Sd #51
3,767 students
88.9% of the leader · rank #2 · 10 schools
Burlington School District
3,500
Burlington School District
3,500 students
82.6% of the leader · rank #3 · 10 schools
South Burlington School District
2,717
South Burlington School District
2,717 students
64.2% of the leader · rank #4 · 5 schools
Maple Run Unified Union School…
2,666
Maple Run Unified Union School District #57
2,666 students
63.0% of the leader · rank #5 · 5 schools
Mount Mansfield Unified Union …
2,620
Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District #401
2,620 students
61.9% of the leader · rank #6 · 8 schools
Colchester School District
2,435
Colchester School District
2,435 students
57.5% of the leader · rank #7 · 5 schools
Windham Southeast Unified Unio…
2,373
Windham Southeast Unified Union School District #96
2,373 students
56.0% of the leader · rank #8 · 9 schools
Barre Unified Union School Dis…
2,221
Barre Unified Union School District #97
2,221 students
52.4% of the leader · rank #9 · 3 schools
Rutland City School District
1,960
Rutland City School District
1,960 students
46.3% of the leader · rank #10 · 6 schools
What this shows Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56 is the largest district, with 4,235 students across 5 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 Vermont data
Vermont's 289 schools sit inside 116 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 Vermont 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 Vermont?
Vermont has 289 public schools across 116 school districts, serving 77,627 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Vermont?
The average student-teacher ratio in Vermont public schools is 11.9:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of Vermont students qualify for free lunch?
27.6% of students in Vermont qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in Vermont?
The largest school district in Vermont is Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56 with 4,235 students across 5 schools.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Champlain Valley Union…
1,251
Champlain Valley Union High School
1,251 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Hinesburg, VT
Essex High School
1,224
Essex High School
1,224 students
97.8% of the leader · rank #2 · Essex Junction, VT
Williston Schools
1,040
Williston Schools
1,040 students
83.1% of the leader · rank #3 · Williston, VT
St. Johnsbury School
1,030
St. Johnsbury School
1,030 students
82.3% of the leader · rank #4 · Saint Johnsbury, VT
Burlington High School
921
Burlington High School
921 students
73.6% of the leader · rank #5 · Burlington, VT
Bellows Free Academy (…
905
Bellows Free Academy (St. Albans)
905 students
72.3% of the leader · rank #6 · Saint Albans, VT
Mt. Anthony Senior Uni…
855
Mt. Anthony Senior Union High School
855 students
68.3% of the leader · rank #7 · Bennington, VT
Barre Town Elementary …
821
Barre Town Elementary & Middle School
821 students
65.6% of the leader · rank #8 · Barre, VT
What this shows The largest public schools in Vermont 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.