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Washoe County · Nevada

Reno, NV public schools

Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Washoe County School District — federal education data, not a star rating.

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

Quick answer

Washoe County School District is the primary public district for Reno, NV. It enrolls 64,990 students in 112 schools with 3,215 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $14,143 per pupil, 18% below the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
64,990NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
112Operating school count
Students per teacher
20.2Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$14,143Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Reno

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
65.5%
$530,932,000
State revenue
24.8%
$200,869,000
Federal revenue
9.8%
$79,366,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Reno property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 42 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Reno numbers

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

$14,143 per pupil is 18% below the $17,320 metro median; only 28% of tracked districts spend less. Only 42 cents of each dollar ($5,934 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: 65.5% of revenue comes from local sources — overwhelmingly property tax — against 24.8% from the state. That makes the district's budget move with Reno property values and levy votes rather than with the NV legislature. Federal aid contributes 9.8%, near the typical share for a large urban district.

64,990 students across 112 schools averages 580 students per building, and the district is larger than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is thin relative to peers: 20.2 students per FTE teacher against a 15.2 median, 5 students more per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Washoe County School District is a county-scale district, so its catchment reaches well past the Reno city limits and these figures describe that wider area. 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 Reno datasets on this site.

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

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

NCES LEAID 3200480. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.