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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 206.10. Number and percentage of homeschooled students ages 5 through 17 with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through 12th grade, by selected child, parent, and household characteristics: Selected years, 1999 through 2019
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, parent, or household characteristic 1999 2003 2007 2012 2016 2019
Number home-schooled (in thousands) Percent home-schooled Number home-schooled (in thousands) Percent home-schooled Number home-schooled (in thousands) Percent home-schooled Number home-schooled1  (in thousands) Percent home-schooled1 Number home-schooled (in thousands) Percent home-schooled Number home-schooled (in thousands) Percent home-schooled
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Total 850   (71.1) 1.7   (0.14) 1,096   (92.3) 2.2   (0.18) 1,520   (118.0) 3.0   (0.23) 1,773   115.7 3.4   (0.23) 1,690   (118.4) 3.3   (0.23) 1,457   (91.6) 2.8   (0.18)

Sex of child
                                                                       
Male 417   (43.9) 1.6   (0.17) 569   (61.9) 2.2   (0.24) 639   (75.1) 2.4   (0.28) 875   (73.7) 3.3   (0.28) 807   (79.2) 3.0   (0.30) 725   (61.6) 2.7   (0.23)
Female 434   (46.1) 1.8   (0.19) 527   (58.2) 2.1   (0.23) 881   (97.4) 3.5   (0.39) 898   (80.3) 3.6   (0.32) 882   (74.8) 3.5   (0.29) 732   (59.8) 2.9   (0.25)

Race/ethnicity of child
                                                                       
White 640   (62.3) 2.0   (0.19) 843   (77.5) 2.7   (0.25) 1,171   (102.2) 3.9   (0.34) 1,205   (95.7) 4.5   (0.35) 998   (92.6) 3.8   (0.35) 1,014   (69.9) 4.0   (0.28)
Black 84   (24.8) 1.0   (0.31) 103 ! (33.9) 1.3 ! (0.42) 61 ! (21.2) 0.8 ! (0.28) 140   (37.1) 2.0   (0.52) 132   (27.6) 1.9   (0.39) 84   (24.7) 1.2   (0.36)
Hispanic 77   (17.7) 1.1   (0.25) 59 ! (21.1) 0.7   (0.26) 147   (27.5) 1.5   (0.29) 265   (41.1) 2.3   (0.35) 444   (62.2) 3.5   (0.50) 250   (41.5) 1.9   (0.32)
Asian/Pacific Islander   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 73 ! (21.9) 2.8 ! (0.9) 44   (12.6) 1.4   (0.40)   (†)   (†)
Asian ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 42   (12.0) 1.4   (0.40)   (†)   (†)
Pacific Islander ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Other2 16 ! (6.4) 1.6 ! (0.62) 59 ! (26.9) 4.9 ! (2.13) 111   (29.5) 4.8   (1.30) 82   (16.3) 3.2   (0.61) 69   (15.2) 2.7   (0.62) 83   (18.4) 2.7   (0.62)

Grade equivalent3
                                                                       
Kindergarten through grade 5 428   (48.1) 1.8   (0.20) 472   (55.3) 1.9   (0.23) 717   (83.8) 3.0   (0.36) 833   (84.8) 3.2   (0.33) 767   (74.4) 3.0   (0.29) 703   (58.6) 2.8   (0.24)
Kindergarten 92   (19.7) 2.4   (0.52)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 212   (47.3) 4.0   (0.9) 181   (40.7) 3.5   (0.80) 115   (27.3) 2.6   (0.61)
Grades 1 through 3 199   (36.7) 1.6   (0.29) 214   (33.3) 1.8   (0.28) 406   (64.5) 3.4   (0.54) 353   (50.9) 2.9   (0.42) 300   (34.1) 2.4   (0.28) 322   (34.8) 2.7   (0.30)
Grades 4 and 5 136   (22.5) 1.7   (0.28) 160   (30.1) 1.9   (0.35) 197   (41.4) 2.5   (0.52) 268   (44.2) 3.2   (0.52) 287   (51.8) 3.4   (0.62) 267   (35.0) 3.2   (0.43)
Grades 6 through 8 186   (28.0) 1.6   (0.24) 302   (44.9) 2.4   (0.36) 371   (65.3) 3.0   (0.53) 424   (49.0) 3.5   (0.41) 398   (49.1) 3.3   (0.41) 429   (55.2) 3.4   (0.43)
Grades 9 through 12 235   (33.3) 1.7   (0.24) 315   (47.0) 2.3   (0.33) 422   (58.2) 2.8   (0.38) 516   (53.6) 3.8   (0.39) 525   (55.9) 3.8   (0.40) 325   (36.3) 2.3   (0.26)

Number of children in the household
                                                                       
One child 132   (18.0) 1.3   (0.17) 110   (22.3) 1.4   (0.27) 197   (32.5) 2.3   (0.38) 418   (29.6) 3.4   (0.23) 338   (35.5) 2.7   (0.27) 276   (29.7) 2.2   (0.24)
Two children 248   (28.4) 1.3   (0.15) 306   (45.1) 1.5   (0.22) 414   (67.2) 2.0   (0.32) 493   (51.5) 2.5   (0.26) 475   (55.3) 2.3   (0.27) 475   (50.1) 2.3   (0.24)
Three or more children 470   (63.9) 2.3   (0.31) 679   (80.2) 3.1   (0.36) 909   (102.4) 4.1   (0.46) 862   (88.4) 4.5   (0.47) 877   (84.8) 4.7   (0.45) 706   (65.0) 3.9   (0.37)

Number of parents in the household
                                                                       
Two parents 683   (68.3) 2.1   (0.21) 886   (82.7) 2.5   (0.23) 1,357   (111.5) 3.6   (0.30) 1,354   (104.2) 3.8   (0.29) 1358   (103.7) 3.7   (0.28) 1,214   (82.6) 3.3   (0.22)
One parent 142   (25.0) 0.9   (0.16) 196   (42.6) 1.5   (0.32) 118   (28.4) 1.0   (0.24) 342   (51.6) 2.5   (0.37) 293   (38.4) 2.3   (0.30) 206   (34.7) 1.6   (0.27)
Nonparental guardians 25 ! (14.4)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 77 ! (31.9) 4.0 ! (1.6) 38   (9.9) 2.0   (0.54) 37 ! (11.9) 2.1 ! (0.68)

Parent/guardian participation in the
    labor force
                                                                       
Two parents/guardians--both in labor
    force
237   (39.8) 1.0   (0.17) 274   (44.1) 1.1   (0.18) 518   (76.2) 2.0   (0.29) 588   (63.5) 2.5   (0.27) 427   (56.5) 1.7   (0.23) 399   (47.3) 1.6   (0.18)
Two parents/guardians--one in labor
    force
444   (53.9) 4.6   (0.55) 594   (73.7) 5.6   (0.67) 808   (94.3) 7.5   (0.82) 719   (76.3) 6.2   (0.65) 935   (87.8) 7.2   (0.68) 839   (69.2) 6.6   (0.57)
One parent/guardian--in labor force 98   (21.8) 0.7   (0.16) 174   (39.8) 1.4   (0.33) 127   (29.5) 1.3   (0.30) 247   (40.9) 2.2   (0.36) 189   (29.6) 1.8   (0.29) 127   (20.4) 1.2   (0.20)
No parent/guardian participation in
    labor force
71   (18.8) 1.9   (0.48)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 130   (31.9) 4.8   (1.15) 139   (23.9) 4.0   (0.72) 93   (27.6) 3.1   (0.92)

Highest education level of
    parents/guardians
                                                                       
High school diploma or less 160   (26.5) 0.9   (0.15) 269   (51.6) 1.7   (0.32) 208   (35.5) 1.5   (0.24) 560   (81.7) 3.4   (0.50) 510   (66.1) 3.3   (0.43) 330   (48.3) 2.2   (0.32)
Vocational/technical, associate's
    degree, or some college
287   (37.3) 1.9   (0.24) 338   (57.7) 2.1   (0.36) 559   (77.5) 3.8   (0.52) 525   (45.6) 3.4   (0.29) 418   (49.2) 3.1   (0.36) 376   (38.7) 2.9   (0.30)
Bachelor's degree/some graduate school 213   (36.2) 2.6   (0.42) 309   (48.5) 2.8   (0.45) 444   (64.7) 3.9   (0.57) 434   (51.4) 3.7   (0.43) 501   (64.0) 3.6   (0.45) 449   (43.3) 3.3   (0.32)
Graduate/professional degree 190   (39.8) 2.3   (0.46) 180   (41.6) 2.3   (0.55) 309   (50.0) 2.9   (0.46) 255   (27.3) 3.3   (0.36) 260   (30.7) 3.0   (0.35) 302   (33.8) 3.1   (0.34)

Household income (in current dollars)4
                                                                       
$20,000 or less 184   (35.2) 1.5   (0.28) 164   (38.9) 1.8   (0.43) 186   (42.1) 2.2   (0.50) 219   (41.8) 2.9   (0.56) 184   (29.0) 2.9   (0.46) 150   (33.5) 3.0   (0.67)
$20,001 to $50,000 356   (42.9) 1.8   (0.22) 430   (60.3) 2.6   (0.36) 420   (59.8) 3.1   (0.42) 528   (65.5) 3.8   (0.47) 483   (59.4) 3.7   (0.46) 292   (34.9) 2.5   (0.30)
$50,001 to $75,000 162   (25.5) 1.9   (0.30) 264   (51.1) 2.4   (0.46) 414   (58.8) 4.0   (0.57) 370   (48.9) 3.9   (0.53) 435   (58.6) 4.8   (0.65) 302   (43.1) 3.6   (0.52)
$75,001 to $100,000 148 5 (26.5) 1.5 5 (0.28) 169   (42.9) 2.6   (0.66) 264   (57.2) 3.8   (0.83) 288   (47.3) 4.2   (0.69) 268   (38.4) 3.8   (0.55) 223   (25.2) 3.2   (0.37)
Over $100,000 --- 5 (†) --- 5 (†)   (†)   (†) 236   (57.5) 2.0   (0.49) 367   (42.8) 2.7   (0.31) 319   (39.0) 1.9   (0.24) 490   (45.3) 2.5   (0.23)

Locale
                                                                       
City ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 327   (40.4) 2.0   (0.26) 493   (59.5) 3.3   (0.40) 493   (56.0) 3.0   (0.33) 399   (46.6) 2.5   (0.29)
Suburban ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 503   (78.8) 2.6   (0.41) 601   (66.8) 3.1   (0.34) 651   (76.2) 2.9   (0.33) 532   (56.2) 2.4   (0.26)
Town ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 168   (37.1) 3.0   (0.65) 127   (30.8) 2.6   (0.63) 177   (30.0) 4.3   (0.70) 102   (16.5) 2.2   (0.39)
Rural ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 523   (75.9) 4.9   (0.71) 552   (68.2) 4.5   (0.55) 368   (45.1) 4.4   (0.54) 423   (48.5) 4.7   (0.54)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 The National Center for Education Statistics uses a statistical adjustment for estimates of homeschoolers in 2012. For more information about this adjustment, please see Homeschooling in the United States: 2012 (NCES 2016-096REV).
2 Includes Two or more races and race/ethnicity not reported.
3 Students whose grade equivalent was "ungraded" were excluded from the grade analysis. The percentage of students with an "ungraded" grade equivalent was 0.03 percent in 1999 and 0.02 percent in 2003 and 2007. There were no students with an "ungraded" grade equivalent in 2012, 2016, and 2019.
4 Current dollars have not been adjusted to compensate for inflation.
5 For 1999, estimates combine the "$75,001 to $100,000" and "Over $100,000" categories.
NOTE: Data in 2019 exclude students who were enrolled in school for more than 24 hours a week, while data prior to 2019 exclude students who were enrolled in school for more than 25 hours a week. Caution should be used when comparing the 2019 homeschooling estimates with those of earlier years. Data for all years also exclude students who were homeschooled only due to a temporary illness. National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) administrations prior to 2012 were administered via telephone with an interviewer. NHES:2012 used self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires that were mailed to respondents. For NHES:2016, initial contact with all respondents was by mail, and the majority of respondents received paper-and-pencil questionnaires. However, as an experiment with web use, a small sample of NHES:2016 respondents received mailed invitations to complete the survey online. For NHES:2019, the majority of data were collected using a web-based survey instrument that respondents accessed with credentials they received in a mailed invitation. Paper surveys were used for nonresponse follow-up and for a small experiment. Before 2007, NHES requested that the parent most knowledgeable about the sampled child answer the survey. Responding parents reported on their own activities and the activities of their spouse/other adults in the household. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and suppression of estimates that did not meet reporting standards.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent Survey and Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (Parent-NHES:1999 and PFI-NHES:2003, 2007, 2012, 2016, and 2019). (This table was prepared December 2021.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest