Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 205.40. Number and percentage distribution of private elementary and secondary students, teachers, and schools, by orientation of school and selected characteristics: Fall 1999, fall 2009, and fall 2017

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected characteristic Fall 1999 Fall 2009
Fall 2017
Total Total Total Catholic Other religious Nonsectarian
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Students1                                                                        
Total 6,018,280   (30,179) 100.0   (†) 5,488,490   (35,857) 100.0   (†) 5,719,990   (74,133) 100.0   (†) 2,137,330   (40,520) 100.0   (†) 2,188,240   (40,106) 100.0   (†) 1,394,420   (26,889) 100.0   (†)
School level2                                                                        
Elementary 3,595,020   (11,516) 59.7   (0.22) 2,937,090   (26,807) 53.5   (0.24) 2,846,020   (56,267) 49.8   (0.55) 1,346,850   (36,078) 63.0   (0.83) 867,760   (29,313) 39.7   (0.95) 631,410   (15,274) 45.3   (0.62)
Secondary 806,640   (2,395) 13.4   (0.08) 785,810   (4,810) 14.3   (0.11) 808,630   (16,013) 14.1   (0.32) 578,300   (15,841) 27.1   (0.77) 119,880   (1,910) 5.5   (0.13) 110,450   (1,338) 7.9   (0.18)
Combined 1,616,620   (23,949) 26.9   (0.28) 1,765,590   (15,909) 32.2   (0.21) 2,065,340   (35,992) 36.1   (0.46) 212,190   (9,771) 9.9   (0.42) 1,200,600   (27,105) 54.9   (0.92) 652,550   (16,618) 46.8   (0.62)
                                                                         
School enrollment                                                                        
Less than 50 238,980   (5,691) 4.0   (0.09) 296,000   (22,889) 5.4   (0.39) 277,530   (9,120) 4.9   (0.15) 7,490   (0) 0.4   (0.01) 155,760   (6,968) 7.1   (0.30) 114,280   (6,141) 8.2   (0.42)
50 to 149 939,110   (10,717) 15.6   (0.14) 950,050   (12,053) 17.3   (0.18) 924,490   (25,783) 16.2   (0.37) 157,680   (9,882) 7.4   (0.44) 399,970   (16,510) 18.3   (0.65) 366,830   (14,385) 26.3   (0.90)
150 to 299 1,615,970   (7,315) 26.9   (0.16) 1,423,220   (9,951) 25.9   (0.17) 1,441,670   (38,720) 25.2   (0.54) 618,050   (25,586) 28.9   (0.96) 529,270   (20,288) 24.2   (0.80) 294,350   (13,550) 21.1   (0.85)
300 to 499 1,419,360   (13,203) 23.6   (0.18) 1,154,950   (10,730) 21.0   (0.19) 1,158,950   (31,868) 20.3   (0.52) 551,610   (15,687) 25.8   (0.74) 407,920   (23,904) 18.6   (0.94) 199,410   (8,974) 14.3   (0.65)
500 to 749 917,670   (2,330) 15.2   (0.08) 768,540   (†) 14.0   (0.09) 848,140   (30,584) 14.8   (0.49) 415,130   (24,969) 19.4   (0.99) 280,450   (7,412) 12.8   (0.39) 152,570   (9,627) 10.9   (0.59)
750 or more 887,190   (18,232) 14.7   (0.26) 895,720   (6,538) 16.3   (0.12) 1,069,210   (19,363) 18.7   (0.34) 387,370   (†) 18.1   (0.44) 414,870   (12,135) 19.0   (0.54) 266,970   (6,355) 19.1   (0.37)
                                                                         
Student
   race/ethnicity3
                                                                       
White 4,061,870   (24,242) 77.3   (0.12) 3,410,360   (31,067) 72.6   (0.20) 3,267,740   (46,018) 66.7   (0.40) 1,285,900   (30,147) 65.6   (0.48) 1,312,690   (26,032) 70.7   (0.50) 669,160   (10,377) 62.0   (0.62)
Black 494,530   (5,079) 9.4   (0.09) 430,970   (2,579) 9.2   (0.07) 453,670   (11,354) 9.3   (0.23) 149,800   (2,761) 7.6   (0.15) 193,510   (7,194) 10.4   (0.37) 110,360   (5,814) 10.2   (0.45)
Hispanic 435,890   (1,592) 8.3   (0.04) 443,290   (4,113) 9.4   (0.09) 552,000   (13,863) 11.3   (0.22) 307,230   (7,087) 15.7   (0.29) 148,190   (6,890) 8.0   (0.33) 96,580   (4,916) 9.0   (0.33)
Asian 239,510   (877) 4.6   (0.02) 239,320   (1,894) 5.1   (0.05) 315,970   (8,834) 6.5   (0.15) 104,030   (1,531) 5.3   (0.07) 98,660   (3,190) 5.3   (0.16) 113,270   (6,348) 10.5   (0.45)
Pacific Islander [4]   (†) [4]   (†) 28,020   (884) 0.6   (0.02) 40,960   (1,418) 0.8   (0.03) 13,510   (1,387) 0.7   (0.07) 17,590   (188) 0.9   (0.02) 9,860   (94) 0.9   (0.02)
American Indian/
   Alaska Native
22,690   (164) 0.4   (#) 21,080   (162) 0.4   (#) 26,840   (1,659) 0.5   (0.03) 10,340   (126) 0.5   (0.01) 10,060   (1,650) 0.5   (0.09) 6,440   (117) 0.6   (0.01)
Two or more races ---   (†) ---   --- 127,090   (781) 2.7   (0.02) 240,970   (3,881) 4.9   (0.06) 90,870   (1,792) 4.6   (0.08) 77,070   (2,904) 4.1   (0.13) 73,020   (1,049) 6.8   (0.09)
                                                                         
School locale                                                                        
City ---   (†) ---   (†) 2,252,780   (12,708) 41.0   (0.31) 2,463,590   (50,197) 43.1   (0.63) 985,600   (23,753) 46.1   (1.02) 874,720   (26,907) 40.0   (0.97) 603,270   (20,872) 43.3   (0.92)
Suburban ---   (†) ---   (†) 2,137,800   (20,891) 39.0   (0.34) 2,284,510   (35,510) 39.9   (0.58) 873,070   (26,231) 40.8   (1.01) 825,600   (16,957) 37.7   (0.79) 585,830   (11,623) 42.0   (0.79)
Town ---   (†) ---   (†) 387,920   (9,565) 7.1   (0.17) 371,150   (25,577) 6.5   (0.42) 186,510   (23,522) 8.7   (1.02) 125,930   (730) 5.8   (0.12) 58,710   (10,017) 4.2   (0.69)
Rural ---   (†) ---   (†) 709,990   (26,462) 12.9   (0.42) 600,740   (25,531) 10.5   (0.41) 92,150   (2,740) 4.3   (0.15) 361,990   (24,792) 16.5   (0.96) 146,590   (5,414) 10.5   (0.46)
                                                                         
Teachers5                                                                        
Total 408,400   (2,977) 100.0   (†) 437,410   (3,222) 100.0   (†) 482,320   (5,669) 100.0   (†) 152,900   (2,961) 100.0   (†) 182,860   (3,057) 100.0   (†) 146,560   (2,539) 100.0   (†)
School level2                                                                        
Elementary 200,910   (735) 49.2   (0.31) 194,480   (1,878) 44.5   (0.25) 200,120   (3,691) 41.5   (0.56) 88,590   (2,249) 57.9   (1.17) 60,840   (1,641) 33.3   (0.79) 50,700   (1,339) 34.6   (0.63)
Secondary 62,740   (229) 15.4   (0.12) 67,530   (553) 15.4   (0.14) 73,690   (2,330) 15.3   (0.48) 45,780   (2,271) 29.9   (1.23) 12,920   (443) 7.1   (0.26) 14,990   (276) 10.2   (0.24)
Combined 144,750   (2,682) 35.4   (0.41) 175,410   (1,853) 40.1   (0.26) 208,520   (3,496) 43.2   (0.47) 18,530   (653) 12.1   (0.41) 109,110   (2,639) 59.7   (0.82) 80,870   (1,787) 55.2   (0.64)
                                                                         
School enrollment                                                                        
Less than 50 25,970   (488) 6.4   (0.11) 34,120   (1,642) 7.8   (0.34) 35,760   (1,330) 7.4   (0.25) 1,100   (0) 0.7   (0.01) 19,020   (1,077) 10.4   (0.53) 15,640   (782) 10.7   (0.50)
50 to 149 70,800   (983) 17.3   (0.21) 82,460   (1,102) 18.9   (0.23) 85,130   (2,523) 17.6   (0.42) 15,010   (1,508) 9.8   (0.89) 34,680   (1,158) 19.0   (0.56) 35,440   (1,440) 24.2   (0.81)
150 to 299 102,240   (486) 25.0   (0.20) 107,490   (1,873) 24.6   (0.33) 114,100   (2,944) 23.7   (0.53) 43,360   (1,706) 28.4   (0.93) 41,420   (1,498) 22.6   (0.74) 29,330   (1,504) 20.0   (0.94)
300 to 499 90,010   (1,316) 22.0   (0.28) 86,850   (751) 19.9   (0.19) 91,470   (2,245) 19.0   (0.46) 37,920   (1,185) 24.8   (0.91) 31,580   (1,443) 17.3   (0.70) 21,970   (680) 15.0   (0.47)
500 to 749 57,930   (79) 14.2   (0.10) 56,920   (†) 13.0   (0.10) 68,790   (2,335) 14.3   (0.46) 28,290   (2,018) 18.5   (1.17) 23,260   (610) 12.7   (0.36) 17,240   (506) 11.8   (0.27)
750 or more 61,440   (2,143) 15.0   (0.45) 69,570   (566) 15.9   (0.13) 87,090   (1,768) 18.1   (0.34) 27,230   (†) 17.8   (0.43) 32,910   (1,244) 18.0   (0.61) 26,950   (553) 18.4   (0.31)
                                                                         
School locale                                                                        
City ---   (†) ---   (†) 176,740   (799) 40.4   (0.33) 206,880   (3,770) 42.9   (0.58) 69,920   (1,760) 45.7   (1.23) 73,510   (2,032) 40.2   (0.87) 63,450   (1,782) 43.3   (0.76)
Suburban ---   (†) ---   (†) 166,170   (2,463) 38.0   (0.41) 185,400   (2,704) 38.4   (0.53) 60,840   (2,145) 39.8   (1.23) 65,780   (1,336) 36.0   (0.74) 58,770   (1,342) 40.1   (0.64)
Town ---   (†) ---   (†) 30,390   (663) 6.9   (0.15) 31,410   (2,294) 6.5   (0.45) 14,830   (2,040) 9.7   (1.21) 10,910   (125) 6.0   (0.13) 5,660   (1,041) 3.9   (0.70)
Rural ---   (†) ---   (†) 64,120   (1,960) 14.7   (0.39) 58,640   (2,235) 12.2   (0.43) 7,310   (173) 4.8   (0.14) 32,660   (1,970) 17.9   (0.92) 18,670   (1,036) 12.7   (0.74)
                                                                         
Schools                                                                        
Total 33,000   (301) 100.0   (†) 33,370   (834) 100.0   (†) 32,460   (559) 100.0   (†) 7,050   (147) 100.0   (†) 14,500   (319) 100.0   (†) 10,910   (342) 100.0   (†)
School level2                                                                        
Elementary 22,300   (242) 67.6   (0.43) 21,420   (745) 64.2   (0.70) 20,090   (460) 61.9   (0.82) 5,410   (134) 76.7   (0.78) 8,010   (329) 55.2   (1.53) 6,670   (241) 61.1   (1.18)
Secondary 2,540   (62) 7.7   (0.19) 2,780   (39) 8.3   (0.23) 2,840   (92) 8.8   (0.30) 1,130   (57) 16.1   (0.74) 810   (63) 5.6   (0.45) 900   (28) 8.2   (0.30)
Combined 8,150   (160) 24.7   (0.40) 9,160   (153) 27.5   (0.54) 9,530   (300) 29.3   (0.76) 510   (16) 7.2   (0.26) 5,680   (206) 39.1   (1.42) 3,340   (176) 30.6   (1.13)
                                                                         
School enrollment                                                                        
Less than 50 9,160   (210) 27.8   (0.44) 11,070   (801) 33.2   (1.61) 10,300   (323) 31.7   (0.67) 240   (0) 3.4   (0.07) 5,780   (207) 39.9   (0.93) 4,280   (259) 39.2   (1.46)
50 to 149 10,260   (134) 31.1   (0.29) 10,470   (154) 31.4   (0.81) 9,970   (261) 30.7   (0.57) 1,480   (76) 21.0   (0.92) 4,310   (165) 29.7   (0.78) 4,180   (162) 38.3   (1.28)
150 to 299 7,440   (34) 22.5   (0.21) 6,690   (46) 20.1   (0.49) 6,790   (196) 20.9   (0.54) 2,840   (113) 40.3   (1.11) 2,510   (97) 17.3   (0.70) 1,450   (79) 13.3   (0.68)
300 to 499 3,730   (41) 11.3   (0.13) 3,010   (30) 9.0   (0.24) 3,030   (89) 9.3   (0.27) 1,420   (37) 20.2   (0.62) 1,090   (73) 7.5   (0.50) 520   (22) 4.8   (0.25)
500 to 749 1,530   (3) 4.6   (0.04) 1,280   (†) 3.8   (0.10) 1,410   (51) 4.4   (0.17) 690   (42) 9.8   (0.56) 470   (12) 3.2   (0.11) 250   (16) 2.3   (0.17)
750 or more 870   (20) 2.6   (0.06) 850   (7) 2.5   (0.06) 950   (21) 2.9   (0.08) 370   (†) 5.2   (0.16) 350   (12) 2.4   (0.10) 230   (8) 2.1   (0.10)
                                                                         
Racial/ethnic
     enrollment
     concentration
                                                                       
More than 50
   percent White
26,490   (290) 80.3   (0.21) 25,110   (818) 75.2   (0.74) 23,250   (434) 71.6   (0.60) 5,180   (†) 73.6   (0.58) 10,940   (303) 75.4   (0.77) 7,120   (259) 65.3   (1.14)
More than 50
   percent Black
2,660   (34) 8.0   (0.11) 2,640   (70) 7.9   (0.28) 2,220   (79) 6.8   (0.26) 290   (†) 4.1   (0.13) 1,240   (55) 8.5   (0.40) 690   (49) 6.3   (0.47)
More than 50
   percent Hispanic
1,220   (20) 3.7   (0.07) 1,550   (72) 4.6   (0.23) 1,990   (153) 6.1   (0.42) 680   (†) 9.7   (0.32) 620   (100) 4.3   (0.68) 680   (90) 6.2   (0.74)
No racial/ethnic
   group more than
   50 percent
2,150   (36) 6.5   (0.11) 3,300   (103) 9.9   (0.36) 4,080   (121) 12.6   (0.32) 790   (†) 11.2   (0.30) 1,350   (45) 9.3   (0.34) 1,940   (113) 17.8   (0.87)
                                                                         
School locale                                                                        
City ---   (†) ---   (†) 10,810   (171) 32.4   (0.88) 10,530   (221) 32.4   (0.61) 2,830   (69) 40.2   (0.99) 3,910   (117) 26.9   (0.93) 3,790   (128) 34.8   (0.98)
Suburban ---   (†) ---   (†) 11,610   (176) 34.8   (0.94) 12,150   (300) 37.4   (0.76) 2,660   (69) 37.7   (0.97) 4,420   (144) 30.5   (1.00) 5,070   (180) 46.5   (1.11)
Town ---   (†) ---   (†) 3,340   (154) 10.0   (0.50) 2,750   (150) 8.5   (0.43) 1,020   (110) 14.5   (1.35) 1,180   (43) 8.1   (0.36) 550   (92) 5.0   (0.77)
Rural ---   (†) ---   (†) 7,610   (799) 22.8   (1.86) 7,020   (336) 21.6   (0.86) 530   (35) 7.5   (0.48) 4,990   (301) 34.4   (1.47) 1,500   (148) 13.8   (1.19)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
1 Includes students in prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools that offer kindergarten or higher grade.
2 Elementary schools have grade 6 or lower and no grade higher than 8. Secondary schools have no grade lower than 7. Combined schools include those that have grades lower than 7 and higher than 8, as well as those that do not classify students by grade level.
3 Race/ethnicity was not collected for prekindergarten students (821,800 in fall 2017). Percentage distribution is based on the students for whom race/ethnicity was reported.
4 For 1999, Pacific Islander students are included under Asian. Prior to 2009, data were not collected on Pacific Islander students as a separate category.
5 Reported in full-time equivalents (FTE). Excludes teachers who teach only prekindergarten students.
NOTE: Tabulation includes schools that offer kindergarten or higher grade. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1999-2000, 2009-10, and 2017–18. (This table was prepared August 2019.)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest