Skip Navigation

Closed schools

Question:
How many public schools in the United States have closed?

Response:

In 2021–22, there were 755 school closures, including 571 regular schools, 71 special education schools, 7 vocational schools, and 106 alternative schools.

Number and enrollment of public elementary and secondary schools that have closed, by school level, type, and charter status: School years 2010–11 through 2021–22
School level, type, and charter status 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Total, all schools 1,741 1,692 1,394 1,644 1,336 1,070 1,068 1,310 1,122 1,130 865 755
School type
Regular 1,352 1,274 986 1,124 974 823 709 889 876 827 684 571
Special education 72 81 82 87 61 30 66 217 42 129 49 71
Vocational 6 12 68 18 23 14 9 13 24 22 11 7
Alternative1 311 325 258 415 278 203 284 191 180 152 121 106
School level
Prekindergarten 53 50 33 47 27 22 31 74 59 76 45 35
Elementary 759 725 587 601 482 450 390 492 410 457 362 324
Middle 261 277 185 240 248 192 184 217 194 175 149 133
Secondary and high 428 458 443 497 437 317 343 387 315 244 248 171
Other, ungraded, and not applicable/not reported 240 182 146 259 142 89 120 140 144 178 61 92
All charter schools2 157 185 153 232 206 236 181 247 215 235 179 89
Prior year enrollment of schools that have closed
Total, enrollment 321,246 300,764 240,704 269,615 211,472 194,653 185,714 266,777 231,206 214,278 165,474 167,575

1 Includes schools that provide nontraditional education, address needs of students that typically cannot be met in regular schools, serve as adjuncts to regular schools, or fall outside the categories of regular, special education, or vocational education.
2 Charter schools are also included under the school level and type categories, as appropriate.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This table indicates the school year by which the school no longer operated (it closed between that school year and the prior school year). The closure of a school does not necessarily mean that a building is no longer used for educational purposes. A single school may share a building with another school, or one school may be housed in several buildings.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Table 216.95. Number and enrollment of public elementary and secondary schools that have closed, by school level, type, and charter status: School years 2010–11 through 2021–22 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_216.95.asp.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)