Total enrollment
8,533
-62 (-1%) vs SY 2020-21
11 schools in Lower Merion SD
Pennsylvania · 8,533 students · 8 cities
Lower Merion SD runs 11 public K-12 schools inside Pennsylvania, with combined enrollment around 8,533 (6 elementary, 3 middle, and 2 high).
4-year change in Lower Merion SD
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
11
+1 (+10%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How Lower Merion SD ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In Pennsylvania | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.6% | #4 of 356 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 8,533 | #23 of 479 | #1,095 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 11 | #24 of 479 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.1:1 | #46 of 478 | #1,149 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 16.8% | #382 of 398 | #7,645 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.6% | #73 of 378 | #2,091 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 Lower Merion SD
State test results across the district's 11 scored schools run from Merion Elementary School at 90.0% proficient to Bala-Cynwyd Middle School at 80.2%, a gap of 9.8 points. That is the 206th widest gap among 223 Pennsylvania districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 10 district schools that reported both years went from 8,569 to 7,456 students (down 13%) and from 694 to 662 full-time teachers (down 5%), 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.
| Name | City | Level | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion HS | Ardmore | High | 09-12 | 1,674 |
| Harriton SHS | Rosemont | High | 09-12 | 1,239 |
| Black Rock MS | Villanova | Middle | 05-08 | 1,077 |
| Bala-Cynwyd MS | Bala Cynwyd | Middle | 05-08 | 794 |
| Welsh Valley MS | Narberth | Middle | 05-08 | 788 |
| Penn Wynne Sch | Wynnewood | Elementary | KG-04 | 621 |
| Gladwyne Sch | Gladwyne | Elementary | KG-04 | 556 |
| Penn Valley Sch | Narberth | Elementary | KG-04 | 542 |
| Cynwyd Sch | Bala Cynwyd | Elementary | KG-04 | 446 |
| Merion El Sch | Merion Station | Elementary | KG-04 | 438 |
| Belmont Hills El Sch | Bala Cynwyd | Elementary | KG-04 | 358 |
About Lower Merion SD
As a rural-scale district in Pennsylvania, Lower Merion SD instructs 8,533 students across 11 schools.
On the school-mix side, Lower Merion SD spans 6 elementary, 3 middle, and 2 high schools.
Average enrollment per school in Lower Merion SD is about 776, above the Pennsylvania average of roughly 569.
Five-year track record. Combined enrollment now sits at 8,533 students, remained close to its prior level from the 8,595 reported in SY 2020-21. Over that span, Lower Merion SD opened 1 school, going from 10 to 11.
On this page, the community for Lower Merion SD discusses comparison threads between local schools and program reviews. Anyone with firsthand knowledge of these schools is welcome to weigh in.