Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Washington - 323 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 2,397 scored Washington schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
Washington runs 2,465 public schools across 323 districts, with a 17.6:1 average classroom and 45.0% of students on subsidized lunch.
2,465
public schools
323
school districts
17.6:1
avg student–teacher
45.0%
free/reduced lunch
How Washington ranks nationally
Per-pupil spending
$20,912
#11of 51 · highest-spending
Average student-teacher ratio
17.6:1
#44of 51 · lowest ratios
Public schools
2,465
#11of 51 · most schools
On subsidized lunch
45.0%
#24of 43 · highest share
Washington ranks #11 of 51 nationally on per-pupil spending and #44 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 Washington Schools
Washington operates 2,465 public K-12 schools organised into 323 independent school districts serving 1,092,149 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Seattle School District No. 1, enrolls 51,238 pupils across 109 schools at $21,806 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 17.6:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. Free-lunch eligibility averages 45.0% across Washington 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.
Washington's average student-teacher ratio vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means more staffing per student)
18lower student-teacher ratio than 12% 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.
Washington per-pupil spending varies 7.5× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Washington ranges from $12,500 (lowest district) to $93,800 (highest), a spread of $81,300. 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 Washington student-teacher ratio is 17.6:1 - near the U.S. average of approximately 16:1
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. Variation between districts within the state is wider than the state-average figure suggests, large urban districts may run 20:1 while small rural districts run 10:1, both inside the same average. Class-load comparisons are most meaningful at the district or school level, not the state aggregate.
Washington's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 53.3/100, 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 Washington ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
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 Washington data
Washington's 2,465 schools sit inside 323 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 Washington 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 Washington?
Washington has 2,465 public schools across 323 school districts, serving 1,092,149 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Washington?
The average student-teacher ratio in Washington public schools is 17.6:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What percentage of Washington students qualify for free lunch?
45.0% of students in Washington qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need used for Title I funding.
What is the largest school district in Washington?
The largest school district in Washington is Seattle School District No. 1 with 51,238 students across 109 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across Washington districts?
Washington districts spend between $12,500 and $93,800 per pupil, a 7.5× range. This is a notable but not extreme spread. 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 funding across districts. 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
Chiawana Senior High S…
3,127
Chiawana Senior High School
3,127 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Pasco, WA
Tahoma Senior High Sch…
2,919
Tahoma Senior High School
2,919 students
93.3% of the leader · rank #2 · Maple Valley, WA
Insight School of Wash…
2,841
Insight School of Washington
2,841 students
90.9% of the leader · rank #3 · Forks, WA
Pasco Senior High School
2,590
Pasco Senior High School
2,590 students
82.8% of the leader · rank #4 · Pasco, WA
Eastlake High School
2,481
Eastlake High School
2,481 students
79.3% of the leader · rank #5 · Sammamish, WA
South Kitsap High School
2,448
South Kitsap High School
2,448 students
78.3% of the leader · rank #6 · Port Orchard, WA
Issaquah High School
2,419
Issaquah High School
2,419 students
77.4% of the leader · rank #7 · Issaquah, WA
Kamiak High School
2,384
Kamiak High School
2,384 students
76.2% of the leader · rank #8 · Mukilteo, WA
What this shows The largest public schools in Washington 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.