Where Were the 100 Largest School Districts?

There were 28 states and jurisdictions that each had at least one of the 100 largest school districts in the 2006–07 school year (table A-1, figure 1, and table D-3). Texas had 18 districts among the 100 largest, followed by Florida with 14 and California with 13. Several other states had more than one district represented among the 100 largest: Georgia, Maryland, and Virginia each had 6; North Carolina had 5; Colorado and Utah each had 4; Tennessee had 3; and Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio each had 2. Each of the following states had one school district among the 100 largest: Alabama, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. (The District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have only one school district each for their entire jurisdiction.)

About three-quarters of the 100 largest school districts were located in coastal and Gulf Coast states (see table D-3 for a count of the 100 largest districts by state). The school districts among the 100 largest also tended to be in cities and counties with large populations, with administrative offices typically located in large cities and their environs. Many of the districts were in states where the school districts have the same boundaries as counties. However, school district boundaries need not be the same as county, city, or town boundaries.