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Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 203.75. Enrollment and percentage distribution of enrollment in public schools, by family poverty rate of 5- to 17-year-olds living in the school district, student race/ethnicity, region, and school locale: 2019-20
Student race/ethnicity, region, and school locale Enrollment Percentage distribution of enrollment
Total Family poverty rate1 of 5- to 17-year-olds2  living in the school district Total Family poverty rate1 of 5- to 17-year-olds2  living in the school district
0 to 8.619 percent 8.620 to 14.505 percent 14.506 to 20.485 percent 20.486 percent or more 0 to 8.619 percent 8.620 to 14.505 percent 14.506 to 20.485 percent 20.486 percent or more
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Total 50,647,113 12,644,383 12,647,058 12,692,991 12,662,681 100.0 25.0 25.0 25.1 25.0
White 23,517,995 8,027,726 6,648,492 5,213,323 3,628,454 100.0 34.1 28.3 22.2 15.4
Black 7,595,219 791,677 1,390,160 2,087,274 3,326,108 100.0 10.4 18.3 27.5 43.8
Hispanic 13,990,184 1,966,333 3,115,944 4,304,900 4,603,007 100.0 14.1 22.3 30.8 32.9
Asian 2,691,231 1,164,829 666,034 405,407 454,961 100.0 43.3 24.7 15.1 16.9
Pacific Islander 185,009 26,653 94,380 41,127 22,849 100.0 14.4 51.0 22.2 12.4
American Indian/Alaska Native 477,556 51,154 102,007 110,260 214,135 100.0 10.7 21.4 23.1 44.8
Two or more races 2,187,456 615,420 628,687 530,414 412,935 100.0 28.1 28.7 24.2 18.9
Race unknown 2,463 591 1,354 286 232 100.0 24.0 55.0 11.6 9.4

Region
                   
Northeast 7,885,805 2,893,913 1,624,785 941,507 2,425,600 100.0 36.7 20.6 11.9 30.8
White 4,093,602 2,082,455 1,001,913 498,938 510,296 100.0 50.9 24.5 12.2 12.5
Black 1,090,778 138,898 173,920 138,448 639,512 100.0 12.7 15.9 12.7 58.6
Hispanic 1,807,520 297,610 316,276 243,096 950,538 100.0 16.5 17.5 13.4 52.6
Asian 584,563 267,501 64,330 24,558 228,174 100.0 45.8 11.0 4.2 39.0
Pacific Islander 13,276 3,470 1,921 906 6,979 100.0 26.1 14.5 6.8 52.6
American Indian/Alaska Native 31,367 5,121 4,755 3,395 18,096 100.0 16.3 15.2 10.8 57.7
Two or more races 264,354 98,696 61,579 32,151 71,928 100.0 37.3 23.3 12.2 27.2
Race unknown 345 162 91 15 77 100.0 47.0 26.4 4.3 22.3

Midwest
10,432,718 3,578,705 2,858,585 2,030,969 1,964,459 100.0 34.3 27.4 19.5 18.8
White 6,659,879 2,740,312 2,029,907 1,196,055 693,605 100.0 41.1 30.5 18.0 10.4
Black 1,422,835 180,479 224,621 316,686 701,049 100.0 12.7 15.8 22.3 49.3
Hispanic 1,382,977 293,746 354,708 341,448 393,075 100.0 21.2 25.6 24.7 28.4
Asian 382,743 192,495 88,492 45,420 56,336 100.0 50.3 23.1 11.9 14.7
Pacific Islander 13,829 3,378 3,730 4,029 2,692 100.0 24.4 27.0 29.1 19.5
American Indian/Alaska Native 77,581 11,394 24,462 16,910 24,815 100.0 14.7 31.5 21.8 32.0
Two or more races 492,465 156,890 132,269 110,421 92,885 100.0 31.9 26.9 22.4 18.9
Race unknown 409 11 396 0 2 100.0 2.7 96.8 0 0.5

South
19,996,753 2,928,728 4,337,012 6,624,809 6,106,204 100.0 14.6 21.7 33.1 30.5
White 8,268,996 1,456,018 2,083,886 2,667,971 2,061,121 100.0 17.6 25.2 32.3 24.9
Black 4,505,655 389,148 836,521 1,414,032 1,865,954 100.0 8.6 18.6 31.4 41.4
Hispanic 5,516,403 618,763 1,004,574 2,073,932 1,819,134 100.0 11.2 18.2 37.6 33.0
Asian 721,166 299,689 179,761 157,286 84,430 100.0 41.6 24.9 21.8 11.7
Pacific Islander 33,444 4,225 6,972 15,181 7,066 100.0 12.6 20.8 45.4 21.1
American Indian/Alaska Native 165,945 14,677 28,010 47,629 75,629 100.0 8.8 16.9 28.7 45.6
Two or more races 785,081 146,208 197,288 248,723 192,862 100.0 18.6 25.1 31.7 24.6
Race unknown 63 0 0 55 8 100.0 0 0 87.3 12.7

West
12,331,837 3,243,037 3,826,676 3,095,706 2,166,418 100.0 26.3 31.0 25.1 17.6
White 4,495,518 1,748,941 1,532,786 850,359 363,432 100.0 38.9 34.1 18.9 8.1
Black 575,951 83,152 155,098 218,108 119,593 100.0 14.4 26.9 37.9 20.8
Hispanic 5,283,284 756,214 1,440,386 1,646,424 1,440,260 100.0 14.3 27.3 31.2 27.3
Asian 1,002,759 405,144 333,451 178,143 86,021 100.0 40.4 33.3 17.8 8.6
Pacific Islander 124,460 15,580 81,757 21,011 6,112 100.0 12.5 65.7 16.9 4.9
American Indian/Alaska Native 202,663 19,962 44,780 42,326 95,595 100.0 9.8 22.1 20.9 47.2
Two or more races 645,556 213,626 237,551 139,119 55,260 100.0 33.1 36.8 21.6 8.6
Race unknown 1,646 418 867 216 145 100.0 25.4 52.7 13.1 8.8

School locale
                   
City 16,451,273 2,013,368 3,174,164 4,512,813 6,750,928 100.0 12.2 19.3 27.4 41.0
White 4,814,092 944,402 1,370,819 1,348,310 1,150,561 100.0 19.6 28.5 28.0 23.9
Black 3,529,171 155,477 367,590 900,194 2,105,910 100.0 4.4 10.4 25.5 59.7
Hispanic 6,088,635 451,706 980,794 1,800,469 2,855,666 100.0 7.4 16.1 29.6 46.9
Asian 1,103,807 322,122 220,736 185,694 375,255 100.0 29.2 20.0 16.8 34.0
Pacific Islander 64,254 6,008 18,862 24,100 15,284 100.0 9.4 29.4 37.5 23.8
American Indian/Alaska Native 113,130 9,308 27,079 35,510 41,233 100.0 8.2 23.9 31.4 36.4
Two or more races 737,201 124,149 187,668 218,423 206,961 100.0 16.8 25.5 29.6 28.1
Race unknown 983 196 616 113 58 100.0 19.9 62.7 11.5 5.9

Suburban
21,100,592 8,433,326 5,981,068 4,660,075 2,026,123 100.0 40.0 28.3 22.1 9.6
White 9,848,530 5,313,456 2,629,563 1,425,849 479,662 100.0 54.0 26.7 14.5 4.9
Black 2,937,408 577,262 869,830 974,261 516,055 100.0 19.7 29.6 33.2 17.6
Hispanic 5,731,909 1,288,444 1,666,446 1,875,790 901,229 100.0 22.5 29.1 32.7 15.7
Asian 1,434,186 794,027 407,092 184,421 48,646 100.0 55.4 28.4 12.9 3.4
Pacific Islander 101,485 17,816 70,244 10,301 3,124 100.0 17.6 69.2 10.2 3.1
American Indian/Alaska Native 86,944 28,123 29,409 20,013 9,399 100.0 32.3 33.8 23.0 10.8
Two or more races 959,438 413,868 308,320 169,346 67,904 100.0 43.1 32.1 17.7 7.1
Race unknown 692 330 164 94 104 100.0 47.7 23.7 13.6 15.0

Town
5,421,980 679,054 1,439,699 1,535,034 1,768,193 100.0 12.5 26.6 28.3 32.6
White 3,396,593 543,657 1,063,100 1,010,402 779,434 100.0 16.0 31.3 29.7 22.9
Black 460,068 15,168 35,504 76,064 333,332 100.0 3.3 7.7 16.5 72.5
Hispanic 1,161,864 78,013 244,090 336,097 503,664 100.0 6.7 21.0 28.9 43.3
Asian 61,741 10,468 17,200 17,416 16,657 100.0 17.0 27.9 28.2 27.0
Pacific Islander 10,531 1,180 2,767 4,368 2,216 100.0 11.2 26.3 41.5 21.0
American Indian/Alaska Native 114,901 5,449 20,321 24,270 64,861 100.0 4.7 17.7 21.1 56.4
Two or more races 216,082 25,092 56,630 66,371 67,989 100.0 11.6 26.2 30.7 31.5
Race unknown 200 27 87 46 40 100.0 13.5 43.5 23.0 20.0

Rural
7,673,268 1,518,635 2,052,127 1,985,069 2,117,437 100.0 19.8 26.7 25.9 27.6
White 5,458,780 1,226,211 1,585,010 1,428,762 1,218,797 100.0 22.5 29.0 26.2 22.3
Black 668,572 43,770 117,236 136,755 370,811 100.0 6.5 17.5 20.5 55.5
Hispanic 1,007,776 148,170 224,614 292,544 342,448 100.0 14.7 22.3 29.0 34.0
Asian 91,497 38,212 21,006 17,876 14,403 100.0 41.8 23.0 19.5 15.7
Pacific Islander 8,739 1,649 2,507 2,358 2,225 100.0 18.9 28.7 27.0 25.5
American Indian/Alaska Native 162,581 8,274 25,198 30,467 98,642 100.0 5.1 15.5 18.7 60.7
Two or more races 274,735 52,311 76,069 76,274 70,081 100.0 19.0 27.7 27.8 25.5
Race unknown 588 38 487 33 30 100.0 6.5 82.8 5.6 5.1
1 A family is in poverty if its income falls below the Census Bureau's poverty threshold, which is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family's size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. In 2020, for example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $26,246. The family poverty rate of 5- to 17-year-olds is the percentage of children in this age group whose families are in poverty. Includes only children classified as "related" and "relevant" (see footnote 2). For additional information about poverty status, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.
2 Includes only those children who live in households and meet both of the following conditions: (1) The children are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. (2) The children are relevant to the school district. Children are relevant if they reside within the geographical boundaries of the district and are at a grade level served by the district, even if they do not attend a school in the district.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School enrollment data were obtained from the Common Core of Data and poverty rate data were obtained from the Census Bureau. To create the school district categories, public school districts were ranked and divided into quarters based on the family poverty rate of their 5- to 17-year-old population; the cut points between the four quarters were chosen so that, at the national level, each quarter contains approximately the same number of students. For the approximately 3 percent of public school students who attended charter or other special districts, no data were available on their school district's family poverty rate. The rate for their district was imputed to be the same as the rate for the county containing the zip code listed for their superintendent's location. This table excludes 3,510 enrolled children whose poverty status could not be determined. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Local Education Agency Universe Survey," 2019-20; and Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE), "Public School File," 2019-20. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) Program, 2019 Poverty Estimates for School Districts and 2019 Poverty Estimates for States and Counties. (This table was prepared April 2022.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest