School & District Management Interactive

Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State?

A look at state enrollment data during the 2020-21 school year
By Eesha Pendharkar & Maya Riser-Kositsky — July 02, 2021 | Updated: February 01, 2022 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Updated: This page was updated with new data from Illinois on July 9, 2021. It was updated with new data from Delaware, Illinois (special education data), and New Jersey (special education data) on July 22, 2021. It was updated with new data from Alabama, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, and North Carolina on Dec. 6, 2021. It was updated with new data from Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2022. Data for Nebraska (English-language learners, special education students, and free and reduced price meal enrollment) was updated on Feb. 1, 2022.

America’s public school system lost more than 1.3 million students in the 2020-21 school year, according to an Education Week analysis of state data.

The loss was spread out across the nation, touching almost every demographic group and concentrated in lower grades. It will likely have academic, financial and staffing repercussions for years to come.

Education Week reached out to 51 state departments of education in order to collect a more comprehensive picture of enrollment losses across the country.

See Also

Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pond School

Contact Information

For media or research inquiries about this data, contact library@educationweek.org.

How to Cite This Page

Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State? (2021, July 2). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/enrollment-data-how-many-students-went-missing-in-your-state/2021/07

Holly Peele, Sr. Library Director contributed to this article.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Hidden Costs of Special Ed Vacancies: Solutions for Your District
When provider vacancies hit, students feel it first. Hear what district leaders are doing to keep IEP-related services on track.
Content provided by Huddle Up
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Middle and High School Math: How to Get Struggling Learners on Track
Join this free virtual event to uncover the nature of students’ weaknesses in secondary-level math and find a path forward.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
How Technology Is Reshaping Childhood
How do we protect kids online while embracing innovation? Learn about navigating safety, privacy, and opportunity in the Digital Age.
Content provided by Connect x Protect

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management High Diesel Prices and Schools: How Districts Are Keeping Buses on the Road
A new survey of school district leaders breaks down what they're already doing to keep buses running.
Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Wheeling, Ill., on May 14, 2026.
Prices on display at a gas station in Wheeling, Ill., on May 14, 2026. Most school districts in a new survey say they're over budget for fuel costs as prices, particularly for diesel needed to keep school buses running, remain high as the Iran war continues.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
School & District Management Schools Brace for Impact as Fuel Prices Climb
Districts are tightening budgets as transporting students and heating buildings grow more costly.
A full lot of parked school buses
School buses are parked at the Dayton Public Transportation center on Thursday, August 21, 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. School districts are already feeling the strain on their budgets as they buy diesel at elevated prices for their school buses.
Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos/AP
School & District Management Opinion School Leadership Can Feel Painfully Lonely. It Doesn’t Have To
Here are three ways I’ve learned to stave off the isolation of being a principal.
Nicole Forrest
4 min read
A leader isolated on a floating dock in the center of an empty expanse.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Canva
School & District Management Opinion Our Schools Are Breaking Educators. We Can Fix It
Making the teaching profession more sustainable starts with a new school leadership architecture.
Lindsay Whorton
5 min read
People Crossing the Book Bridge in the Cliff Valley
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty