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Charleston County · South Carolina

Charleston, SC public schools

Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Charleston 01 — federal education data, not a star rating.

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

Quick answer

Charleston 01 is the primary public district for Charleston, SC. It enrolls 49,929 students in 82 schools with 3,791 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $20,379 per pupil, 18% above the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
49,929NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
82Operating school count
Students per teacher
13.2Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$20,379Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Charleston

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
59.6%
$619,471,000
State revenue
31.7%
$329,772,000
Federal revenue
8.7%
$90,948,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Charleston property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 37 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.

Reading the Charleston numbers

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

At $20,379 per pupil the district spends 18% more than the $17,320 metro median, outspending 66% of the districts covered. Only 37 cents of each dollar ($7,500 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.

Funding is split roughly evenly — 59.6% local, 31.7% state — so both the local tax base and the SC aid formula matter to what this district can spend. Federal aid contributes 8.7%, near the typical share for a large urban district.

49,929 students across 82 schools averages 609 students per building, and the district is larger than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is generous: 13.2 students per FTE teacher versus the 15.2 median, 2 fewer students per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Figures cover Charleston 01 (LEAID 4501440) as one unit, not any single school in Charleston. 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 Charleston datasets on this site.

Statewide: South Carolina cities · South Carolina ZIP codes · South Carolina sales tax · South Carolina counties

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

NCES LEAID 4501440. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.