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Hudson County · New Jersey

Jersey City, NJ public schools

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

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

Quick answer

Jersey City Public Schools is the primary public district for Jersey City, NJ. It enrolls 26,647 students in 39 schools with 2,094 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $28,991 per pupil, 67% above the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
26,647NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
39Operating school count
Students per teacher
12.7Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$28,991Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Jersey City

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
33.7%
$285,362,000
State revenue
59.7%
$504,682,000
Federal revenue
6.6%
$55,580,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Jersey City property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 51 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Jersey City numbers

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

$28,991 per pupil puts this district in the top spending tier of the metros tracked here — 67% above the $17,320 median and higher than 90% of them. Instruction takes 51 cents of each dollar — $14,890 per student — with the remainder on transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Funding is split roughly evenly — 33.7% local, 59.7% state — so both the local tax base and the NJ aid formula matter to what this district can spend. Federal aid is a small 6.6% of the total, so national funding changes have limited effect on this budget.

26,647 students across 39 schools averages 683 students per building, and the district is smaller than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is generous: 12.7 students per FTE teacher versus the 15.2 median, 2.5 fewer students per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Figures cover Jersey City Public Schools (LEAID 3407830) as one unit, not any single school in Jersey 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 Jersey City datasets on this site.

Statewide: New Jersey cities · New Jersey ZIP codes · New Jersey sales tax · New Jersey counties

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

NCES LEAID 3407830. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.