Student distribution by region type in the United States
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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Each of the 50 states have different geographical and municipal layouts. As such, public schools and the students attending them can be classified under four different locales: city, suburban, town and rural. Generally, distribution of students in these locales does not change significantly from year to year. Most students in the United States attend suburban schools, and, as Washington, D.C. is made up entirely of city grounds, all students in the District attend city schools.
2012-2013 school year
During the 2012-2013 school year, about 40 percent of all students in the United States attended suburban schools. New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the three states with the highest percentages of students in suburban schools during that school year.
Arizona, Nevada and New York had the highest percentage of students in city schools. Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota were the three states with the highest population of students in town schools, while Vermont, Maine and Mississippi had the highest percentage of students in rural schools.[1]
| Percentage of city, suburban, town, and rural regular public elementary and secondary schools by state, 2012-2013 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total schools | Total students | % of students in City Schools | % of students in Suburban Schools | % of students in Town Schools | % of students in Rural Schools | |||||||||
| Alabama | 1,323 | 740,270 | 23.7% | 23% | 14.5% | 38.8% | |||||||||
| Alaska | 435 | 113,194 | 36.6% | 5.3% | 25.7% | 32.4% | |||||||||
| Arizona | 1,927 | 1,075,433 | 49.4% | 30.8% | 10.5% | 9.3% | |||||||||
| Arkansas | 1,060 | 484,557 | 27.7% | 13.9% | 24.3% | 34.1% | |||||||||
| California | 8,605 | 6,015,735 | 42.6% | 46.2% | 5.7% | 5.5% | |||||||||
| Colorado | 1,725 | 847,838 | 37.6% | 39.6% | 9.1% | 13.7% | |||||||||
| Connecticut | 1,024 | 534,513 | 28.5% | 56.3% | 3% | 12.1% | |||||||||
| Delaware | 186 | 117,162 | 12.7% | 54.3% | 16.1% | 16.9% | |||||||||
| Washington, D.C. | 205 | 72,679 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |||||||||
| Florida | 3,399 | 2,628,503 | 25.7% | 58.9% | 4.5% | 10.9% | |||||||||
| Georgia | 2,246 | 1,684,026 | 15.7% | 45.9% | 11.5% | 26.9% | |||||||||
| Hawaii | 284 | 184,579 | 24.2% | 45% | 22.5% | 8.3% | |||||||||
| Idaho | 625 | 276,563 | 23.9% | 27.3% | 24.5% | 24.3% | |||||||||
| Illinois | 3,954 | 2,038,215 | 29.9% | 49.1% | 10.2% | 10.7% | |||||||||
| Indiana | 1,849 | 1,038,791 | 30.4% | 26.9% | 14.7% | 28% | |||||||||
| Iowa | 1,352 | 487,827 | 27.6% | 12.7% | 26.2% | 33.5% | |||||||||
| Kansas | 1,296 | 473,112 | 27.4% | 17.6% | 26.9% | 28.2% | |||||||||
| Kentucky | 1,290 | 678,798 | 20.9% | 16.8% | 25.7% | 36.6% | |||||||||
| Louisiana | 1,198 | 642,616 | 24.8% | 30.7% | 15.8% | 28.8% | |||||||||
| Maine | 585 | 179,038 | 12% | 16.2% | 17% | 54.7% | |||||||||
| Maryland | 1,327 | 837,991 | 20.8% | 61.1% | 3.8% | 14.3% | |||||||||
| Massachusetts | 1,773 | 911,421 | 16.9% | 72.2% | 1.5% | 9.5% | |||||||||
| Michigan | 3,024 | 1,441,301 | 23.6% | 43.1% | 11.5% | 21.9% | |||||||||
| Minnesota | 1,606 | 813,835 | 21.1% | 36% | 21% | 21.8% | |||||||||
| Mississippi | 903 | 492,087 | 10.8% | 14.1% | 28.9% | 46.1% | |||||||||
| Missouri | 2,154 | 904,978 | 19.2% | 34% | 20.1% | 26.6% | |||||||||
| Montana | 818 | 142,797 | 25.2% | 2% | 37% | 35.8% | |||||||||
| Nebraska | 997 | 302,842 | 37.9% | 15.5% | 22% | 24.6% | |||||||||
| Nevada | 596 | 439,716 | 48.8% | 37% | 7.5% | 6.7% | |||||||||
| New Hampshire | 479 | 187,940 | 14.6% | 36.9% | 14.1% | 34.4% | |||||||||
| New Jersey | 2,340 | 1,331,925 | 9.6% | 79.9% | 2.1% | 8.4% | |||||||||
| New Mexico | 825 | 331,650 | 34.4% | 14.3% | 27.5% | 23.7% | |||||||||
| New York | 4,581 | 2,646,018 | 43.9% | 37.5% | 6.6% | 11.9% | |||||||||
| North Carolina | 2,428 | 1,497,677 | 27.9% | 23.9% | 10.8% | 37.4% | |||||||||
| North Dakota | 469 | 98,977 | 28.9% | 11.1% | 21.2% | 38.7% | |||||||||
| Ohio | 3,538 | 1,721,384 | 18.9% | 45.5% | 13.7% | 22% | |||||||||
| Oklahoma | 1,775 | 671,950 | 23.1% | 21.9% | 24% | 30.9% | |||||||||
| Oregon | 1,211 | 549,865 | 34.6% | 27.2% | 24.1% | 14.1% | |||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 3,011 | 1,726,333 | 20.4% | 50.8% | 9.4% | 19.4% | |||||||||
| Rhode Island | 285 | 137,043 | 24.1% | 65.4% | 0% | 10.5% | |||||||||
| South Carolina | 1,165 | 733,765 | 19.2% | 35.3% | 12.4% | 33.1% | |||||||||
| South Dakota | 649 | 128,464 | 27.2% | 1.7% | 29.7% | 41.4% | |||||||||
| Tennessee | 1,711 | 988,856 | 31.7% | 20.9% | 17.1% | 30.3% | |||||||||
| Texas | 7,679 | 4,996,929 | 42.3% | 32% | 10.1% | 15.6% | |||||||||
| Utah | 888 | 601,895 | 16.4% | 62.3% | 11.2% | 10.1% | |||||||||
| Vermont | 299 | 84,711 | 6.4% | 9.1% | 28.4% | 56% | |||||||||
| Virginia | 1,853 | 1,261,239 | 23.2% | 44.4% | 7.1% | 25.3% | |||||||||
| Washington | 1,905 | 1,004,757 | 32.5% | 42.6% | 12.7% | 12.1% | |||||||||
| West Virginia | 688 | 281,971 | 14.3% | 20.2% | 21.6% | 43.9% | |||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2,122 | 865,492 | 29.3% | 27.9% | 19.6% | 23.2% | |||||||||
| Wyoming | 335 | 90,633 | 25.2% | 2.1% | 44.1% | 28.6% | |||||||||
| United States | 88,002 | 48,539,891 | 30% | 39.8% | 11.5% | 18.7% | |||||||||
| Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2012-2013 (Table 4) | |||||||||||||||
2011-2012 school year
The following chart gives the percentages of the school population in a state that attended different school locale types for the school year 2011-2012: city, suburban, town and rural schools. In 2006, after working with the Census Bureau, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) revised its classification of school types, taking advantage of improved geocoding technology and the 2000 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of metro areas. This new "urban-centric" classification system relies less on population size and county boundaries, and more on proximity to an urbanized area. Education policy in a state naturally depends in part on the different types and percentages of schools in the state.[2]
In the District of Columbia, 100 percent of the students attended city schools, whereas in Vermont only 7.2 percent attended city schools. In New Jersey over 80 percent attended suburban schools, only 2 percent attended town schools, and 10 percent attended rural schools. Maine and Vermont had the highest number of rural schools, while Wyoming had the highest number of town schools. In South Dakota less than one percent of students attended suburban schools. California, which had the highest number of schools and students in the United States, had a mix of 43.4 percent city, 39.3 suburban, 6.1 percent town and 11.3 percent rural schools.
| Percentage of city, suburban, town, and rural regular public elementary and secondary schools by state | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total schools | Total students | % of students in City Schools | % of students in Suburban Schools | % of students in Town Schools | % of students in Rural Schools | |||||||||
| Alabama | 1,314 | 729,226 | 20.6 | 16.9 | 14.4 | 48 | |||||||||
| Alaska | 440 | 113,028 | 34.2 | 2.9 | 22.5 | 40.4 | |||||||||
| Arizona | 1,918 | 1,064,795 | 48.5 | 16.3 | 10 | 25.2 | |||||||||
| Arkansas | 1,066 | 481,277 | 25.8 | 9.6 | 20.3 | 44.3 | |||||||||
| California | 8,556 | 6,002,120 | 43.4 | 39.3 | 6.1 | 11.3 | |||||||||
| Colorado | 1,714 | 839,650 | 33.3 | 32.6 | 10.3 | 23.8 | |||||||||
| Connecticut | 1,027 | 537,636 | 28.1 | 53.7 | 4 | 14.2 | |||||||||
| Delaware | 187 | 118,329 | 13.4 | 45.2 | 17.2 | 24.2 | |||||||||
| District of Columbia | 201 | 70,066 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Florida | 3,358 | 2,606,936 | 24.3 | 50.3 | 5 | 20.5 | |||||||||
| Georgia | 2,260 | 1,667,928 | 14 | 38 | 9.9 | 38 | |||||||||
| Hawaii | 284 | 182,529 | 19.5 | 42.7 | 25.3 | 12.5 | |||||||||
| Idaho | 634 | 274,188 | 27.5 | 15.9 | 20.8 | 35.8 | |||||||||
| Illinois | 3,971 | 2,056,618 | 31.3 | 43.3 | 10.3 | 15.1 | |||||||||
| Indiana | 1,847 | 1,036,589 | 27.9 | 23.2 | 14.7 | 34.1 | |||||||||
| Iowa | 1,366 | 482,856 | 26.4 | 8.2 | 25.4 | 40.1 | |||||||||
| Kansas | 1,339 | 480,951 | 24 | 14.5 | 26.6 | 34.9 | |||||||||
| Kentucky | 1,243 | 673,062 | 19.6 | 14.6 | 22.8 | 43.1 | |||||||||
| Louisiana | 1,127 | 598,964 | 20.7 | 24.5 | 19.6 | 35.2 | |||||||||
| Maine | 576 | 178,945 | 12.6 | 11.2 | 17.6 | 58.6 | |||||||||
| Maryland | 1,331 | 833,712 | 16.9 | 59.9 | 5.3 | 18 | |||||||||
| Massachusetts | 1,754 | 910,180 | 20.8 | 66.1 | 2.2 | 11 | |||||||||
| Michigan | 3,047 | 1,463,687 | 23.8 | 40.2 | 11.4 | 24.6 | |||||||||
| Minnesota | 1,601 | 808,060 | 20.8 | 29.4 | 19.5 | 30.4 | |||||||||
| Mississippi | 899 | 490,619 | 10 | 8.9 | 28.9 | 52.2 | |||||||||
| Missouri | 2,155 | 906,724 | 17.4 | 29.9 | 19.2 | 33.5 | |||||||||
| Montana | 820 | 142,237 | 23.8 | 1.9 | 35 | 39.4 | |||||||||
| Nebraska | 1,005 | 300,737 | 33.9 | 12.2 | 23.5 | 30.4 | |||||||||
| Nevada | 597 | 434,181 | 38.5 | 32 | 6.6 | 22.9 | |||||||||
| New Hampshire | 475 | 190,784 | 14.4 | 31.8 | 16.3 | 37.5 | |||||||||
| New Jersey | 2,342 | 1,322,141 | 7.2 | 80.8 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
| New Mexico | 813 | 330,605 | 32.6 | 11.9 | 27.4 | 28.1 | |||||||||
| New York | 4,519 | 2,638,575 | 44.1 | 35.3 | 7.3 | 13.2 | |||||||||
| North Carolina | 2,407 | 1,490,177 | 25.9 | 14.1 | 11.6 | 48.4 | |||||||||
| North Dakota | 467 | 95,526 | 26 | 8.9 | 20.2 | 45 | |||||||||
| Ohio | 3,569 | 1,731,104 | 19.7 | 39.6 | 13.5 | 27.3 | |||||||||
| Oklahoma | 1,765 | 664,893 | 21.9 | 19.4 | 22.9 | 35.8 | |||||||||
| Oregon | 1,216 | 547,143 | 32.6 | 23.3 | 26.3 | 17.8 | |||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 3,068 | 1,730,956 | 19.2 | 45.7 | 12.1 | 23 | |||||||||
| Rhode Island | 288 | 138,124 | 31.4 | 54.4 | 2.4 | 11.9 | |||||||||
| South Carolina | 1,151 | 724,303 | 17.4 | 24.3 | 14.3 | 44 | |||||||||
| South Dakota | 650 | 125,976 | 25.8 | 0.8 | 27 | 46.5 | |||||||||
| Tennessee | 1,698 | 983,992 | 29.8 | 16.1 | 14 | 40.2 | |||||||||
| Texas | 7,618 | 4,919,236 | 39.7 | 24.5 | 9.8 | 26 | |||||||||
| Utah | 880 | 587,065 | 16.5 | 50.9 | 12.9 | 19.7 | |||||||||
| Vermont | 304 | 84,005 | 7.2 | 11.2 | 24.8 | 56.9 | |||||||||
| Virginia | 1,855 | 1,253,217 | 23 | 38.8 | 6.9 | 31.3 | |||||||||
| Washington | 1,883 | 994,543 | 29.1 | 41.1 | 12.3 | 17.5 | |||||||||
| West Virginia | 689 | 281,760 | 13 | 15.5 | 21 | 50.4 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2,132 | 864,691 | 27.5 | 24 | 19.2 | 29.3 | |||||||||
| Wyoming | 330 | 88,893 | 22.8 | 1.7 | 42.3 | 33.2 | |||||||||
| United States | 87,756 | 48,273,539 | 28.9 | 34 | 11.6 | 25.4 | |||||||||
| Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2011-2012 | |||||||||||||||
External links
National Center for Education Statistics
Footnotes
