{"id":"private-school-vs-public-school","slug":"private-school-vs-public-school","title":"Private School vs Public School: U.S. Facts","shortAnswer":"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.","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.","category":"education","entities":[{"id":"private-school","slug":"private-school","name":"Private School","shortDesc":"Privately run K-12 schools, religious or nonsectarian.","imageUrl":null,"entityType":"concept","position":0,"pros":["About 5.5 million students in fall 2021","About 0.5 million full-time-equivalent teachers","82% of teachers stayed at the same school (2020-21 to 2021-22)"],"cons":["Families usually pay tuition","12% of teachers left the profession (2020-21 to 2021-22)"],"bestFor":"Families seeking a specific religious, educational or size fit"},{"id":"public-school","slug":"public-school","name":"Public School","shortDesc":"Publicly funded K-12 schools run by local school systems.","imageUrl":null,"entityType":"concept","position":1,"pros":["About 49.6 million students in fall 2022","Current spending of $15,591 per student (2021-22)","84% of teachers stayed at the same school (2020-21 to 2021-22)"],"cons":["Enrollment set largely by where you live","8% of teachers left the profession (2020-21 to 2021-22)"],"bestFor":"Families wanting a free neighbourhood school"}],"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"}],"attributes":[{"id":"a0","slug":"a0","name":"Kindergarten to grade 8","unit":null,"category":"Schools","dataType":"text","higherIsBetter":null,"values":[{"entityId":"private-school","valueText":"3.3 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null},{"entityId":"public-school","valueText":"32.5 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null}]},{"id":"a1","slug":"a1","name":"Grades 9 to 12","unit":null,"category":"Schools","dataType":"text","higherIsBetter":null,"values":[{"entityId":"private-school","valueText":"1.4 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null},{"entityId":"public-school","valueText":"15.5 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null}]},{"id":"a2","slug":"a2","name":"Funding","unit":null,"category":"Schools","dataType":"text","higherIsBetter":null,"values":[{"entityId":"private-school","valueText":"Tuition and private sources","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null},{"entityId":"public-school","valueText":"Public funds; $15,591 per student (2021-22)","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null}]},{"id":"a3","slug":"a3","name":"Enrollment in fall 2000","unit":null,"category":"Schools","dataType":"text","higherIsBetter":null,"values":[{"entityId":"private-school","valueText":"6.2 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null},{"entityId":"public-school","valueText":"47.2 million","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null}]},{"id":"a4","slug":"a4","name":"Teachers moving to another school","unit":null,"category":"Schools","dataType":"text","higherIsBetter":null,"values":[{"entityId":"private-school","valueText":"6%","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null},{"entityId":"public-school","valueText":"8%","valueNumber":null,"valueBoolean":null}]}],"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."},{"question":"Do private school teachers stay longer?","answer":"From 2020-21 to 2021-22, 82% of private and 84% of public school teachers stayed at the same school; 12% of private and 8% of public school teachers left the profession."},{"question":"How many teachers work in each sector?","answer":"About 3.2 million full-time-equivalent teachers in public schools (fall 2022) and 0.5 million in private schools (fall 2021)."},{"question":"Is private school better than public school?","answer":"It depends on the specific schools and your child. Compare programs, class sizes, support services, travel and total cost for the schools you can choose from."}],"relatedComparisons":[],"relatedBlogPosts":[],"expertAnalysis":"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.\n\nKey takeaways\n\n- Public schools: about 49.6 million students in fall 2022.\n- Private schools: about 5.5 million students in fall 2021.\n- Teachers: 3.2 million FTE in public schools (fall 2022), 0.5 million in private schools (fall 2021).\n- Public school current spending: $15,591 per student in 2021-22.\n- Teacher retention 2020-21 to 2021-22: 84% public, 82% private stayed at the same school.\n\nEnrollment\n\nOf public school students in fall 2022, 1.5 million were in prekindergarten, 32.5 million in kindergarten to grade 8 and 15.5 million in grades 9 to 12. Of private school students in fall 2021, 3.3 million were in kindergarten to grade 8 and 1.4 million in grades 9 to 12. Private enrollment was 6.2 million in fall 2000 and 5.3 million in fall 2011.\n\nTeachers\n\nFrom 2020-21 to 2021-22, 8% of public school teachers and 6% of private school teachers moved to another school, and 8% of public and 12% of private school teachers left the profession.\n\nCost\n\n1. Public schools are funded publicly; total current spending was $768 billion in 2021-22.\n2. Private schools are generally funded by tuition and other private sources, so costs vary by school.\n\nWho should pick which\n\nCompare the specific schools available to you: class sizes, programs, support services, travel time and total cost. Visit, ask about teacher retention and review local results.","quickAnswer":{"tldr":"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.","winnerName":null,"winnerReason":"Public for a free neighbourhood school; private for a specific religious, educational or size fit, usually with tuition.","keyFact":"About 49.6 million U.S. students attended public schools (fall 2022) and 5.5 million private schools (fall 2021)."},"citationStats":{"sourceCount":2,"dataPointCount":12,"reviewsAnalyzed":null,"preferencePercent":null,"preferenceEntity":null,"lastResearched":"2026-10-16","sources":[{"name":"NCES Fast Facts: Back-to-school statistics","url":"https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372"},{"name":"NCES Fast Facts: Enrollment trends","url":"https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=65"}]},"resources":[{"type":"external","label":"NCES Fast Facts: Back-to-school statistics","url":"https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372","description":"Public 49.6M (fall 2022), private 5.5M (fall 2021); teachers; retention; $15,591 per student."},{"type":"external","label":"NCES Fast Facts: Enrollment trends","url":"https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=65","description":"Public and private enrollment from fall 1985 to fall 2021."}],"metadata":{"metaTitle":"Private School vs Public School | A Versus B","metaDescription":"Private vs public school in the U.S.: enrollment, teachers, teacher retention and per-student spending from national education statistics.","publishedAt":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z","isAutoGenerated":false,"isHumanReviewed":false,"viewCount":0,"status":"published"}}