Pennsylvania
2,923 Schools749 Districts1.7M Students
$97,525
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+580% nat'l59.4%
Free Lunch Rate
+7.2pp vs nat'l89.6%
Graduation Rate
+3.1pp vs nat'l46/100
Opportunity Score
ModerateAbout Pennsylvania Public Schools
Pennsylvania's school funding system was declared unconstitutionally inequitable by a Commonwealth Court judge in 2023, in the William Penn School District v. Pennsylvania Department of Education case — the first such ruling in the state's history — compelling the legislature to redesign how state dollars flow to schools. Pennsylvania has one of the widest per-pupil spending gaps between its wealthiest and poorest districts of any state, with some districts spending more than $30,000 per student while others spend under $10,000. Philadelphia School District, the eighth-largest in the country, has been under various forms of state oversight and reform management for over two decades. Pennsylvania uses the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) for grades 3-8 and the Keystone Exams for high school subjects.
Largest District
Philadelphia City SD
113K students
Highest Per-Pupil
Western Montgomery CTC
$7,447,000/student
Top Graduation Rate
Mt Lebanon SD
99.5% grad rate
School Districts (749)
Per-pupil spending in Pennsylvania ranges from $6,503 to $7,447,000 across districts with available data. State avg: $97,525.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| Philadelphia City SD | 217 | 113K | $38,325↓61% | 75.2%↓16% | 100.0%↑68% | 37 |
| Commonwealth Charter Academy CS | 1 | 20K | $16,959↓83% | 54.0%↓40% | — | 51 |
| Pittsburgh SD | 56 | 20K | $37,601↓61% | 85.5% | 96.6%↑63% | 43 |
| Central Bucks SD | 23 | 17K | $20,319↓79% | 96.6%↑8% | 12.8%↓78% | 50 |
| Reading SD | 19 | 17K | $17,649↓82% | 71.0%↓21% | 95.7%↑61% | 49 |
| Allentown City SD | 21 | 16K | $22,334↓77% | 72.6%↓19% | 96.2%↑62% | 39 |
| Downingtown Area SD | 16 | 13K | $19,123↓80% | 95.9%↑7% | 13.3%↓78% | 52 |
| Bethlehem Area SD | 22 | 13K | $23,782↓76% | 83.2%↓7% | 55.8%↓6% | 47 |
| North Penn SD | 17 | 13K | $22,289↓77% | 95.0%↑6% | 35.5%↓40% | 53 |
| Upper Darby SD | 14 | 12K | $19,856↓80% | 83.0%↓7% | 98.3%↑66% | 52 |
| Central Dauphin SD | 19 | 12K | $18,517↓81% | 86.1% | 74.5%↑25% | 43 |
| Hazleton Area SD | 11 | 12K | $18,138↓81% | 78.0%↓13% | 94.7%↑59% | 44 |
| West Chester Area SD | 17 | 12K | $21,571↓78% | 97.3%↑9% | 18.3%↓69% | 59 |
| Council Rock SD | 14 | 10K | $26,437↓73% | 96.0%↑7% | 12.6%↓79% | 62 |
| Erie City SD | 15 | 10K | $24,344↓75% | 75.2%↓16% | 99.9%↑68% | 46 |
| Lancaster SD | 19 | 10K | $25,363↓74% | 83.9%↓6% | 94.9%↑60% | 45 |
| Cumberland Valley SD | 11 | 10K | $17,036↓83% | 95.0%↑6% | 27.4%↓54% | 47 |
| Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students | ||||||
| Pennsylvania Cyber CS | 1 | 9,838 | $14,754↓85% | 50.0%↓44% | — | 45 |
| Parkland SD | 12 | 9,821 | $21,990↓77% | 95.0%↑6% | 29.2%↓51% | 51 |
| Pennsbury SD | 14 | 9,591 | $23,468↓76% | 95.0%↑6% | 30.3%↓49% | 43 |
| Neshaminy SD | 10 | 9,426 | $21,121↓78% | 93.0% | 36.7%↓38% | 53 |
| Chambersburg Area SD | 17 | 9,274 | $17,822↓82% | 83.3%↓7% | 70.5%↑19% | 45 |
| Scranton SD | 15 | 9,215 | $19,284↓80% | 81.7%↓9% | 96.9%↑63% | 49 |
| Abington SD | 9 | 8,534 | $22,414↓77% | 95.0%↑6% | 31.4%↓47% | 53 |
| North Allegheny SD | 11 | 8,419 | $20,928↓79% | 95.0%↑6% | 9.1%↓85% | 52 |
| Pocono Mountain SD | 9 | 8,012 | $27,397↓72% | 94.0% | 60.4% | 43 |
| Easton Area SD | 9 | 7,990 | $25,103↓74% | 91.0% | 97.0%↑63% | 48 |
| East Penn SD | 10 | 7,957 | $19,277↓80% | 94.0% | 28.1%↓53% | 50 |
| Spring-Ford Area SD | 11 | 7,920 | $22,390↓77% | 96.0%↑7% | 19.4%↓67% | 45 |
| Norristown Area SD | 12 | 7,785 | $21,768↓78% | 78.6%↓12% | 94.9%↑60% | 45 |
| Wilkes-Barre Area SD | 9 | 7,678 | $24,364↓75% | 81.0%↓10% | 96.0%↑62% | 44 |
| West Shore SD | 13 | 7,513 | $18,474↓81% | 91.1% | 40.8%↓31% | 47 |
| Lower Merion SD | 10 | 7,486 | $38,412↓61% | 97.2%↑8% | 14.8%↓75% | 56 |
| Seneca Valley SD | 8 | 7,381 | $23,944↓75% | 96.0%↑7% | 18.8%↓68% | 58 |
| Altoona Area SD | 11 | 7,226 | $17,030↓83% | 89.0% | 63.5%↑7% | 46 |
| Hempfield SD | 10 | 7,032 | $18,706↓81% | 89.0% | 36.6%↓38% | 46 |
| Reach Cyber CS | 1 | 6,918 | $16,432↓83% | 63.0%↓30% | — | 43 |
| Tredyffrin-Easttown SD | 8 | 6,876 | $24,050↓75% | 97.0%↑8% | 5.0%↓92% | 47 |
| State College Area SD | 11 | 6,781 | $23,986↓75% | 93.0% | 19.1%↓68% | 50 |
| Haverford Township SD | 7 | 6,622 | $22,499↓77% | 96.0%↑7% | 19.0%↓68% | 48 |
| Boyertown Area SD | 9 | 6,586 | $18,090↓81% | 93.0% | 29.5%↓50% | 46 |
| Pennridge SD | 11 | 6,496 | $21,276↓78% | 97.0%↑8% | 26.9%↓55% | 52 |
| East Stroudsburg Area SD | 10 | 6,383 | $25,485↓74% | 90.6% | 58.1% | 44 |
| Millcreek Township SD | 9 | 6,356 | $21,728↓78% | 90.0% | 44.7%↓25% | 44 |
| Wilson SD | 8 | 6,352 | $18,389↓81% | 95.0%↑6% | 36.2%↓39% | 45 |
| Dallastown Area SD | 8 | 6,337 | $18,115↓81% | 93.0% | 34.8%↓41% | 56 |
| Bensalem Township SD | 9 | 6,323 | $25,302↓74% | 83.0%↓7% | 58.8% | 46 |
| Harrisburg City SD | 12 | 6,267 | $24,422↓75% | 67.1%↓25% | 99.9%↑68% | 32 |
| Souderton Area SD | 9 | 6,075 | $22,927↓76% | 93.0% | 24.9%↓58% | 56 |
| Bristol Township SD | 6 | 6,050 | $32,347↓67% | 80.0%↓11% | 100.0%↑68% | 39 |
Showing 50 of 749
Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.