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Digest of Education Statistics
2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 205.90. Private elementary and secondary schools and enrollment, percentage distribution of private schools and enrollment, and private schools and enrollment as a percentage of combined public and private schools and enrollment, by locale: School years 2011-12 and 2021-22
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Locale Number of private schools Private school enrollment
Number Percentage distribution Percent of combined public and private schools Enrollment Percentage distribution Percent of combined public and private enrollment
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2011-12                                    
Total 30,860   (542) 100.0   (†) 23.9   (0.32) 5,268,090   (24,908) 100.0   (†) 9.7   (0.18)
City 10,000   (52) 32.4   (0.59) 27.9   (0.10) 2,186,170   (14,689) 41.5   (0.27) 13.1   (0.25)
Large 5,240   (24) 17.0   (0.31) 28.3   (0.09) 1,254,210   (2,961) 23.8   (0.14) 14.2   (0.21)
Midsize 2,160   (1) 7.0   (0.12) 27.6   (0.01) 448,530   (34) 8.5   (0.04) 12.4   (0.26)
Small 2,600   (46) 8.4   (0.21) 27.5   (0.35) 483,420   (14,388) 9.2   (0.26) 11.5   (0.39)

Suburban
10,910   (70) 35.4   (0.63) 28.9   (0.13) 2,018,570   (6,493) 38.3   (0.20) 10.8   (0.16)
Large 9,530   (78) 30.9   (0.57) 30.0   (0.17) 1,807,400   (6,973) 34.3   (0.19) 11.3   (0.16)
Midsize 810   (26) 2.6   (0.10) 22.6   (0.57) 124,740   (1,060) 2.4   (0.02) 7.5   (0.14)
Small 570   (30) 1.9   (0.10) 24.0   (0.96) 86,440   (2,073) 1.6   (0.04) 8.2   (0.24)

Town
2,900   (104) 9.4   (0.22) 17.8   (0.52) 358,600   (3,130) 6.8   (0.05) 5.9   (0.17)
Fringe 340   (4) 1.1   (0.02) 15.7   (0.15) 47,650   (209) 0.9   (0.01) 5.0   (0.10)
Distant 1,450   (1) 4.7   (0.08) 17.8   (0.01) 190,550   (31) 3.6   (0.02) 6.1   (0.16)
Remote 1,100   (104) 3.6   (0.29) 18.6   (1.42) 120,400   (3,123) 2.3   (0.06) 6.2   (0.24)

Rural
7,050   (453) 22.8   (1.07) 17.9   (0.94) 704,750   (19,874) 13.4   (0.33) 5.4   (0.18)
Fringe 3,770   (102) 12.2   (0.36) 21.3   (0.46) 515,880   (18,276) 9.8   (0.32) 6.2   (0.25)
Distant 2,270   (257) 7.4   (0.73) 16.6   (1.56) 145,380   (9,720) 2.8   (0.18) 4.1   (0.27)
Remote 1,000   (255) 3.2   (0.78) 12.6   (2.80) 43,480   (3,777) 0.8   (0.07) 3.7   (0.31)

2021-22
                                   
Total 29,730   (156) 100.0   (†) 23.1   (0.09) 5,473,540   (16,721) 100.0   (†) 10.0   (0.07)
City 10,120   (52) 34.0   (0.20) 27.1   (0.10) 2,339,600   (7,967) 42.7   (0.13) 13.7   (0.08)
Large 5,290   (22) 17.8   (0.10) 26.1   (0.08) 1,328,950   (2,977) 24.3   (0.07) 14.1   (0.04)
Midsize 2,300   (25) 7.7   (0.08) 28.2   (0.22) 512,620   (4,961) 9.4   (0.08) 13.7   (0.16)
Small 2,530   (28) 8.5   (0.10) 28.4   (0.22) 498,020   (2,780) 9.1   (0.05) 12.7   (0.11)

Suburban
11,260   (74) 37.9   (0.22) 26.5   (0.13) 2,212,440   (13,442) 40.4   (0.15) 10.3   (0.10)
Large 9,880   (59) 33.2   (0.19) 27.5   (0.12) 1,966,750   (9,955) 35.9   (0.14) 10.7   (0.10)
Midsize 850   (30) 2.9   (0.10) 20.9   (0.58) 151,690   (3,253) 2.8   (0.06) 7.9   (0.17)
Small 530   (11) 1.8   (0.04) 21.9   (0.35) 94,000   (7,959) 1.7   (0.14) 8.9   (0.69)

Town
2,590   (85) 8.7   (0.26) 16.5   (0.46) 331,250   (1,536) 6.1   (0.03) 5.9   (0.06)
Fringe 500   (19) 1.7   (0.06) 14.6   (0.48) 69,510   (402) 1.3   (0.01) 4.8   (0.04)
Distant 1,250   (83) 4.2   (0.26) 16.9   (0.92) 161,890   (1,438) 3.0   (0.03) 6.1   (0.08)
Remote 840   (11) 2.8   (0.04) 17.4   (0.18) 99,850   (361) 1.8   (0.01) 6.5   (0.04)

Rural
5,760   (61) 19.4   (0.16) 17.1   (0.15) 590,250   (1,450) 10.8   (0.04) 5.6   (0.03)
Fringe 2,900   (21) 9.8   (0.08) 20.0   (0.12) 411,520   (712) 7.5   (0.03) 6.3   (0.03)
Distant 2,380   (57) 8.0   (0.17) 19.2   (0.37) 149,130   (1,263) 2.7   (0.02) 5.2   (0.05)
Remote 480   (#) 1.6   (0.01) 7.1   (#) 29,610   (#) 0.5   (#) 2.9   (0.01)
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
NOTE: Includes special education, vocational/technical education, and alternative schools. Tabulation includes private schools that offer kindergarten or higher grade. Includes enrollment of private school students in prekindergarten through grade 12 in schools that offer kindergarten or higher grade. Some counts in this table are based on a census of schools in a given category rather than a sample; for these counts, standard errors are not applicable. 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), 2011-12 and 2021-22; Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2011-12 and 2021-22; and Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE), “Public School File,” 2021-22. (This table was prepared July 2023.)

2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest