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Harris County · Texas

Houston, TX public schools

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

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

Quick answer

Houston Isd is the primary public district for Houston, TX. It enrolls 189,934 students in 274 schools with 10,993 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $13,304 per pupil, 23% below the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.

Students enrolled
189,934NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
Schools in the district
274Operating school count
Students per teacher
17.3Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
Spending per pupil
$13,304Total current expenditure, FY2020

Who pays for schools in Houston

Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.

Local revenue
75.8%
$1,987,065,000
State revenue
11.4%
$299,890,000
Federal revenue
12.8%
$335,452,000

Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Houston 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 Houston numbers

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

$13,304 per pupil is 23% below the $17,320 metro median; only 20% of tracked districts spend less. Only 45 cents of each dollar ($5,998 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: 75.8% of revenue comes from local sources — overwhelmingly property tax — against 11.4% from the state. That makes the district's budget move with Houston property values and levy votes rather than with the TX legislature. Federal aid contributes 12.8%, near the typical share for a large urban district.

189,934 students across 274 schools averages 693 students per building, and the district is larger than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Staffing is thin relative to peers: 17.3 students per FTE teacher against a 15.2 median, 2.1 students more per teacher.

What this data covers

Read this before comparing districts.

Houston Isd is a large city district; figures are the district total (LEAID 4823640) and individual schools inside it vary widely. 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 Houston datasets on this site.

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

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

NCES LEAID 4823640. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.