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Fulton County · Georgia

Atlanta, GA public schools

Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Atlanta Public Schools — federal education data, not a star rating.

Yellow public school bus parked at dusk, illustrating local school district data

Quick answer

Atlanta Public Schools is the primary public district for Atlanta, GA. It enrolls 50,325 students in 86 schools with 3,979 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $20,413 per pupil, 18% above the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
50,325NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
86Operating school count
Students per teacher
12.6Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$20,413Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Atlanta

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
74.3%
$837,855,000
State revenue
17.2%
$194,257,000
Federal revenue
8.5%
$95,526,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Atlanta property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 53 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Atlanta numbers

What the 2021-22 NCES and FY2020 Census finance numbers say about this district.

At $20,413 per pupil the district spends 18% more than the $17,320 metro median, outspending 67% of the districts covered. Instruction takes 53 cents of each dollar — $10,804 per student — with the remainder on transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Money is raised locally: 74.3% of revenue comes from local sources — overwhelmingly property tax — against 17.2% from the state. That makes the district's budget move with Atlanta property values and levy votes rather than with the GA legislature. Federal aid contributes 8.5%, near the typical share for a large urban district.

50,325 students across 86 schools averages 585 students per building, and the district is larger than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is generous: 12.6 students per FTE teacher versus the 15.2 median, 2.6 fewer students per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Figures cover Atlanta Public Schools (LEAID 1300120) as one unit, not any single school in Atlanta. Independently authorised charter schools, private schools and regional vocational programs are counted separately by NCES and are not in these totals. Enrollment is the 2021-22 NCES collection; dollars are the FY2020 Census F-33 survey, the latest complete national release. The two years differ, so per-pupil spending is a stable indicator rather than a live budget line.

Other Atlanta datasets on this site.

Statewide: Georgia cities · Georgia ZIP codes · Georgia sales tax · Georgia counties

Source: NCES Common Core of Data + Census F-33, via Urban Institute Education Data · rates as published for 2021-22 / FY2020

NCES LEAID 1300120. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.