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Jackson County · Missouri

Kansas City, MO public schools

Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Kansas City 33 — federal education data, not a star rating.

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

Quick answer

Kansas City 33 is the primary public district for Kansas City, MO. It enrolls 14,413 students in 35 schools with 1,164 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $17,323 per pupil, 0% above the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
14,413NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
35Operating school count
Students per teacher
12.4Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$17,323Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Kansas City

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
81.9%
$229,203,000
State revenue
2.5%
$7,135,000
Federal revenue
15.6%
$43,579,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Kansas City property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 45 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Kansas City numbers

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

Spending of $17,323 per pupil sits close to the $17,320 metro median — within 0 percent of it, so budget is not what sets this district apart. Only 45 cents of each dollar ($7,783 per student) is classified as instruction, so a large share goes to support services, facilities and transport — common in districts with long bus routes or older buildings.

Money is raised locally: 81.9% of revenue comes from local sources — overwhelmingly property tax — against 2.5% from the state. That makes the district's budget move with Kansas City property values and levy votes rather than with the MO legislature. Federal dollars are an outsized 15.6% of revenue, a share that tracks concentrated student poverty (Title I) and special-education enrollment.

14,413 students across 35 schools averages 412 students per building, and the district is smaller than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is generous: 12.4 students per FTE teacher versus the 15.2 median, 2.8 fewer students per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Figures cover Kansas City 33 (LEAID 2916400) as one unit, not any single school in Kansas City. 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 Kansas City datasets on this site.

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

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

NCES LEAID 2916400. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.