Interactive tool · NCES data

School Comparison Tool

Search any U.S. public school and put up to four side by side, enrollment, student-teacher ratio, free-lunch eligibility, and type, all from official NCES records. See our methodology for how each figure is sourced.

95,891
Schools searchable
51
States & DC
Up to 4
Side by side

The national benchmark

The typical US public school runs a 15.7:1 classroom, and 51.7% of students nationwide qualify for subsidized lunch. This tool puts those figures side by side for any schools you pick.

95,891
public schools
15.7:1
avg student-teacher ratio, US
51.7%
free/reduced lunch
49.0M
students enrolled

What the side-by-side shows

Size & staffing

15.7:1

Total enrollment, full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-teacher ratio, the clearest signals of staffing intensity and attention. US average: 15.7:1.

Economic need

51.7%

Free- and reduced-price lunch eligibility, the federal indicator of the share of students from lower-income households. 51.7% qualify nationwide.

Type & programs

7,931

School level, regular vs. charter vs. magnet, context for why two nearby schools can look very different. 7,931 charters nationwide.

Every figure comes straight from the NCES Common Core of Data: official measurements, not subjective ratings. These are a starting point for research, not a substitute for visiting a school or talking with current families. Read the methodology.

See it in action

Two of America's largest high schools, side by side, similar size, very different student communities. That contrast is exactly what the tool surfaces.

Reading Shs

Reading, PA

4,879students
20.4:1student–teacher
85.7%free/reduced lunch
Carmel High School

Carmel, IN

5,239students
18:1student–teacher
11.6%free/reduced lunch
Compare these two in full →

No school in mind? Start with a state

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaii All states →

The largest U.S. school districts

By total K-12 enrollment, a sensible place to start a comparison

students

What this shows The biggest districts enroll hundreds of thousands of students across dozens of schools, so comparing individual campuses within them is often more useful than comparing the districts themselves.

Source NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) As of 2024-25

How to read a comparison

No single number defines a school, the most useful comparisons read several federal measures together.

  • Search across all 95,891 US public schools in 51 states and DC, then check up to four to line them up side by side.
  • Read class size (student-teacher ratio) alongside economic need (free-lunch eligibility) and program type, a low ratio means little if the schools serve very different student populations.
  • Found your shortlist? Open each school’s full federal profile for demographics, AP courses, counselor ratios, and discipline data. Browse by state

All figures are NCES-reported for the 2024-25 school year. Some fields are unavailable for smaller or newer schools; a blank means not reported, not zero.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the school comparison tool work?
Select a state, type a school name or city to search, then check up to 4 schools to compare side-by-side. The comparison table shows enrollment, student-teacher ratio, free lunch eligibility, and school type.
Where does the data come from?
All school data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data for the 2024-25 school year, the federal government's comprehensive annual collection of education statistics.
Why can I only compare up to 4 schools?
The comparison view is designed for detailed side-by-side analysis. Comparing more than 4 schools at once makes the table difficult to read. For broader searches, use the state and city browse pages.
How do I know if a school's numbers are unusual?
Compare them against the national picture: the average US public school runs a 15.7:1 student-teacher ratio and 51.7% of students nationwide qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. A school well above or below these figures on either measure is a genuine outlier worth a closer look, not necessarily better or worse, just different from the typical US public school.

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.