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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 208.20. Public and private elementary and secondary teachers, enrollment, pupil/teacher ratios, and new teacher hires: Selected years, fall 1955 through fall 2030
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
3,619 3,166 453 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 ---   ---   ---  
2013 3,555 3,114 441   55,440 50,045 5,396   15.6 16.1 12.2   ---   ---   ---  
2014 3,594 3,132 461 2 55,888 50,313 5,575 2 15.6 16.1 12.1 2 ---   ---   ---  
2015 3,633 3,151 482   56,189 50,438 5,751   15.5 16.0 11.9   299   192   107  

2016
3,653 3,169 483 2 56,369 50,615 5,754 2 15.4 16.0 11.9 2 ---   ---   ---  
2017 3,652 3,170 482   56,406 50,686 5,720   15.4 16.0 11.9   329   241   89  
2018 3,652 3,170 482 2 56,304 50,694 5,610 2 15.4 16.0 11.6 2 331 3 237 3 94 3
2019 3,679 3,198 481   56,282 50,796 5,486   15.3 15.9 11.4   358 3 267 3 91 3
20203 3,647 3,171 476   55,369 49,375 5,994   15.2 15.6 12.6   299   211   87  

20213
3,664 3,186 478   55,967 50,072 5,895   15.3 15.7 12.3   345   253   92  
20223 3,631 3,158 473   55,720 49,935 5,786   15.3 15.8 12.2   296   210   86  
20233 3,624 3,152 472   55,416 49,734 5,683   15.3 15.8 12.0   320   232   89  
20243 3,617 3,146 471   54,994 49,485 5,510   15.2 15.7 11.7   319   231   88  
20253 3,609 3,139 470   54,519 49,120 5,399   15.1 15.6 11.5   318   230   88  

20263
3,576 3,111 465   53,555 48,368 5,186   15.0 15.5 11.1   292   208   84  
20273 3,547 3,086 461   52,878 47,821 5,057   14.9 15.5 11.0   292   209   83  
20283 3,533 3,074 459   52,575 47,589 4,986   14.9 15.5 10.9   306   221   85  
20293 3,513 3,057 456   52,255 47,357 4,898   14.9 15.5 10.7   301   217   84  
20303 3,498 3,044 454   52,059 47,253 4,807   14.9 15.5 10.6   304   221   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 in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for teachers are expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE). Counts of private school enrollment include prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools offering kindergarten or higher grades. Counts of private school teachers exclude teachers who teach only prekindergarten students. 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. Projections in this table were calculated after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and take into account the expected impacts of the pandemic. 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 2019-20; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989-90 through 2019-20; Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Data File" and "Private School Teacher Data File," 1999-2000 through 2011-12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Teacher Data File," 2015-16 and 2017-18, "Private School Teacher Data File," 2017-18; Elementary and Secondary Teacher Projection Model, through 2030; and New Teacher Hires Projection Model, through 2030. (This table was prepared September 2021.)

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