Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 208.20. Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, pupil/teacher ratios, and new teacher hires: Selected years, fall 1955 through fall 2026
Year Teachers
(in thousands)
Enrollment
(in thousands)
Pupil/teacher
ratio
Number of new
teacher hires
(in thousands)1
Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10 11 12 13
1955 1,286 1,141 145 2  35,280 30,680 4,600 2  27.4 26.9 31.7 2       
1960 1,600 1,408 192 2  42,181 36,281 5,900 2  26.4 25.8 30.7 2       
1965 1,933 1,710 223   48,473 42,173 6,300   25.1 24.7 28.3        
1970 2,292 2,059 233   51,257 45,894 5,363   22.4 22.3 23.0        
1975 2,453 2,198 255 2  49,819 44,819 5,000 2  20.3 20.4 19.6 2       
                                     
1976 2,457 2,189 268   49,478 44,311 5,167   20.1 20.2 19.3        
1977 2,488 2,209 279   48,717 43,577 5,140   19.6 19.7 18.4        
1978 2,479 2,207 272   47,637 42,551 5,086   19.2 19.3 18.7        
1979 2,461 2,185 276 2  46,651 41,651 5,000 2  19.0 19.1 18.1 2       
1980 2,485 2,184 301   46,208 40,877 5,331   18.6 18.7 17.7              
                                     
1981 2,440 2,127 313 2  45,544 40,044 5,500 2  18.7 18.8 17.6 2       
1982 2,458 2,133 325 2  45,166 39,566 5,600 2  18.4 18.6 17.2 2       
1983 2,476 2,139 337   44,967 39,252 5,715   18.2 18.4 17.0        
1984 2,508 2,168 340 2  44,908 39,208 5,700 2  17.9 18.1 16.8 2       
1985 2,549 2,206 343   44,979 39,422 5,557   17.6 17.9 16.2        
                                     
1986 2,592 2,244 348 2  45,205 39,753 5,452 2  17.4 17.7 15.7 2       
1987 2,631 2,279 352   45,488 40,008 5,479   17.3 17.6 15.6        
1988 2,668 2,323 345 2  45,430 40,189 5,242 2  17.0 17.3 15.2 2       
1989 2,713 2,357 356   46,141 40,543 5,599   17.0 17.2 15.7        
1990 2,759 2,398 361 2  46,864 41,217 5,648 2  17.0 17.2 15.6 2       
                                     
1991 2,797 2,432 365   47,728 42,047 5,681   17.1 17.3 15.6        
1992 2,823 2,459 364 2  48,694 42,823 5,870 2  17.2 17.4 16.1 2       
1993 2,868 2,504 364   49,532 43,465 6,067   17.3 17.4 16.7        
1994 2,922 2,552 370 2  50,106 44,111 5,994 2  17.1 17.3 16.2 2       
1995 2,974 2,598 376   50,759 44,840 5,918   17.1 17.3 15.7        
                                     
1996 3,051 2,667 384 2  51,544 45,611 5,933 2  16.9 17.1 15.5 2       
1997 3,138 2,746 391   52,071 46,127 5,944   16.6 16.8 15.2        
1998 3,230 2,830 400 2  52,526 46,539 5,988 2  16.3 16.4 15.0 2       
1999 3,319 2,911 408   52,875 46,857 6,018   15.9 16.1 14.7   305   222   83  
2000 3,366 2,941 424 2  53,373 47,204 6,169 2  15.9 16.0 14.5 2       
                                     
2001 3,440 3,000 441   53,992 47,672 6,320   15.7 15.9 14.3        
2002 3,476 3,034 442 2  54,403 48,183 6,220 2  15.7 15.9 14.1 2       
2003 3,490 3,049 441   54,639 48,540 6,099   15.7 15.9 13.8   311   236   74  
2004 3,536 3,091 445 2  54,882 48,795 6,087 2  15.5 15.8 13.7 2       
2005 3,593 3,143 450   55,187 49,113 6,073   15.4 15.6 13.5        
                                     
2006 3,622 3,166 456 2  55,307 49,316 5,991 2  15.3 15.6 13.2 2       
2007 3,656 3,200 456   55,201 49,291 5,910   15.1 15.4 13.0   327   246   80  
2008 3,670 3,222 448 2  54,973 49,266 5,707 2  15.0 15.3 12.8 2       
2009 3,647 3,210 437   54,849 49,361 5,488   15.0 15.4 12.5        
2010 3,529 3,099 429 2  54,867 49,484 5,382 2  15.5 16.0 12.5 2       
                                     
2011 3,524 3,103 421   54,790 49,522 5,268   15.5 16.0 12.5   241   173   68  
2012 3,540 3,109 431 2  55,104 49,771 5,333 2  15.6 16.0 12.4 2  338   247   91  
2013 3,555 3,114 441   55,440 50,045 5,396   15.6 16.1 12.2   334   244   90  
2014 3,568 3,132 436 2  55,635 50,313 5,323 2  15.6 16.1 12.2 2  336   259   77  
20153 3,575 3,143 432   55,763 50,485 5,278   15.6 16.1 12.2   331   254   77  
                                     
20163 3,580 3,152 428   55,859 50,625 5,234   15.6 16.1 12.2   328   251   76  
20173 3,581 3,157 424   55,891 50,710 5,181   15.6 16.1 12.2   323   247   76  
20183 3,580 3,160 420   55,892 50,759 5,133   15.6 16.1 12.2   320   245   75  
20193 3,601 3,182 420   55,947 50,843 5,104   15.5 16.0 12.2   340   262   78  
20203 3,620 3,201 419   56,079 50,996 5,083   15.5 15.9 12.1   338   260   78  
                                     
20213 3,645 3,225 420   56,216 51,152 5,064   15.4 15.9 12.1   344   266   78  
20223 3,671 3,250 421   56,356 51,301 5,055   15.4 15.8 12.0   347   268   80  
20233 3,700 3,277 423   56,513 51,455 5,058   15.3 15.7 11.9   351   270   81  
20243 3,730 3,303 427   56,632 51,562 5,070   15.2 15.6 11.9   354   272   83  
20253 3,759 3,329 431   56,715 51,632 5,083   15.1 15.5 11.8   358   274   84  
20263 3,783 3,349 434   56,834 51,738 5,096   15.0 15.4 11.8   353   270   84  
—Not available.
1 A teacher is considered to be a new hire for a public or private school if the teacher had not taught in that control of school in the previous year. A teacher who moves from a public to private or a private to public school is considered a new teacher hire, but a teacher who moves from one public school to another public school or one private school to another private school is not considered a new teacher hire.
2 Estimated.
3 Projected.
NOTE: Data for teachers are expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE). Counts of private school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools offering kindergarten or higher grades. Counts of public school teachers and enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12. The pupil/teacher ratio includes teachers for students with disabilities and other special teachers, while these teachers are generally excluded from class size calculations. Ratios for public schools reflect totals reported by states and differ from totals reported for schools or school districts. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools, 1955-56 through 1980-81; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1955 through 1980; 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1987-88 Private School Survey; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1981-82 through 2014-15; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2013-14; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Data File" and "Private School Teacher Data File," 1999-2000 through 2011-12; Elementary and Secondary Teacher Projection Model, 1973 through 2026; and New Teacher Hires Projection Model, 1988 through 2026. (This table was prepared March 2017.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest