Total enrollment
21,372
+2,113 (+11%) vs SY 2020-21
44 schools in Paterson Public School District
New Jersey · 21,372 students · 2 cities
Of all public K-12 schools in New Jersey, 44 sit under Paterson Public School District, with combined enrollment of roughly 21,372 students (31 elementary, 3 middle, and 9 high).
4-year change in Paterson Public School District
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
43
+1 (+2%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Paterson Public School District ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In New Jersey | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.4% | #231 of 243 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 21,372 | #4 of 372 | #363 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 43 | #2 of 372 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.6:1 | #319 of 370 | #2,697 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 69.6% | #46 of 369 | #1,981 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.5% | #225 of 298 | #3,561 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside Paterson Public School District
State test results across the district's 38 scored schools run from School 28 at 89.9% proficient to Newcomers High School at 0.0%, a gap of 89.9 points. That is the widest gap among 186 New Jersey districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 40 district schools that reported both years went from 19,885 to 19,094 students (down 4%) and from 1,580 to 1,547 full-time teachers (down 2%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
About Paterson Public School District
Across 44 schools, Paterson Public School District serves about 21,372 students in New Jersey. By footprint it is an average-sized district.
On the school-mix side, Paterson Public School District consists of 31 elementary, 3 middle, 9 high schools, and 1 combined or other.
Per-school enrollment averages around 486 in this district, below the New Jersey typical of 540.
Five-year track record. Across the same 4-year window, public-school enrollment rose 11%: 19,259 students in SY 2020-21 versus 21,372 in SY 2024-25. Over that span, Paterson Public School District opened 1 school, going from 42 to 43.
On allk12, the community for Paterson Public School District discusses enrollment trends, district policy changes, and bus-route updates. Members of the local community share what they see day-to-day.