{"slug":"private-school-vs-public-school","question":"Private School vs Public School: U.S. Facts","answer":"About 49.6 million U.S. students attended public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2022, taught by 3.2 million full-time-equivalent teachers, with current spending of $15,591 per student in 2021-22. About 5.5 million attended private schools in fall 2021, with 0.5 million teachers. From 2020-21 to 2021-22, 84% of public and 82% of private school teachers stayed at the same school, while 8% and 12% left teaching. Choose by your child's needs, cost and the specific schools near you.","answer_curated":true,"verdict":"Public: about 49.6 million students, $15,591 current spending per student.\n\nPrivate: about 5.5 million students, tuition-based.\n\nCompare the individual schools near you.","keyDifferences":[{"label":"Students","entityAValue":"About 5.5 million (fall 2021)","entityBValue":"About 49.6 million (fall 2022)","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Teachers (FTE)","entityAValue":"0.5 million","entityBValue":"3.2 million","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Teachers staying at same school","entityAValue":"82%","entityBValue":"84%","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Teachers leaving the profession","entityAValue":"12%","entityBValue":"8%","winner":"tie"}],"winner":null,"confidence":"high","entities":[{"name":"Private School","slug":"private-school","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/private-school","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/private-school"},{"name":"Public School","slug":"public-school","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/public-school","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/public-school"}],"faqs":[{"question":"How many students go to private school in the U.S.?","answer":"About 5.5 million students were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools in fall 2021."},{"question":"How many students go to public school?","answer":"About 49.6 million students were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2022."},{"question":"How much do public schools spend per student?","answer":"Current expenditures were $15,591 per student in 2021-22, out of $768 billion in total current spending."}],"attribution":{"source":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/private-school-vs-public-school","license":"CC BY 4.0","citationFormat":"According to A Versus B (https://www.aversusb.net/compare/private-school-vs-public-school), About 49.6 million U.S. students attended public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2022, taught by 3.2 million full-time-equivalent teachers, with current spending of $15,591 per student in 202","dateModified":"2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z"},"relatedQuestionsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/faq/private-school-vs-public-school","relatedComparisonsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/related/private-school-vs-public-school","knowledgeGraphUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/knowledge-graph/private-school-vs-public-school"}