Houston has more public schools than any other city in the United States. In the 2024-25 school year, 782 in-person public schools had a Houston address, according to allk12's analysis of federal school data. Chicago was second with 652, followed by Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.
| Rank | City | Public schools | Students | Charter schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston, Texas | 782 | 516,438 | 173 |
| 2 | Chicago, Illinois | 652 | 327,482 | 117 |
| 3 | Brooklyn, New York | 578 | 290,852 | 90 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, California | 562 | 250,442 | 167 |
| 5 | San Antonio, Texas | 556 | 331,000 | 158 |
| 6 | Bronx, New York | 466 | 202,654 | 100 |
| 7 | Phoenix, Arizona | 413 | 192,362 | 139 |
| 8 | Dallas, Texas | 372 | 204,959 | 71 |
| 9 | New York, New York | 349 | 149,042 | 53 |
| 10 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 311 | 244,972 | 54 |
| 11 | Miami, Florida | 306 | 175,028 | 94 |
| 12 | Tucson, Arizona | 303 | 107,407 | 74 |
| 13 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 301 | 177,907 | 82 |
| 14 | San Diego, California | 279 | 161,195 | 45 |
| 15 | Fort Worth, Texas | 277 | 154,433 | 54 |
| 16 | Austin, Texas | 271 | 157,479 | 68 |
| 17 | Baltimore, Maryland | 270 | 151,501 | 31 |
| 18 | Washington, Washington, D.C. | 241 | 93,261 | 122 |
| 19 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 238 | 146,657 | 68 |
| 20 | San Jose, California | 234 | 126,311 | 50 |
| 21 | Denver, Colorado | 228 | 100,222 | 57 |
| 22 | Columbus, Ohio | 228 | 88,993 | 74 |
| 23 | El Paso, Texas | 226 | 151,341 | 26 |
| 24 | Memphis, Tennessee | 213 | 99,961 | 63 |
| 25 | Orlando, Florida | 200 | 142,918 | 32 |
In-person public schools by mailing city, 2024-25, including charter schools. Virtual schools are excluded. Source: allk12 analysis of NCES Common Core of Data.
How the count works
These totals group schools by the city in their mailing address, which does not always match a school district or a city's legal borders. That explains a few surprises on the list.
Houston's 782 schools come from many districts and charter operators. Houston ISD accounts for 268 of them, and 173 are charter schools. New York City does not appear as one entry because the federal data lists its schools by borough or neighborhood. Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan, listed as New York, each rank on their own. Los Angeles Unified runs 785 schools, but only 400 of them have a Los Angeles mailing address. The rest use neighborhood or nearby city names.
Charter schools make up a large share in some cities. Washington, D.C., has 124 charters among its 243 in-person public schools, more than half. Phoenix has 159 charters among 451 schools.
Every city has its own page on allk12 listing its schools, such as Houston and Chicago. For districts rather than cities, see the largest school districts in America.
Sources
School counts, enrollment, and charter status from allk12's analysis of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
