Skip to content
BCER

KY ยท 2024-25 school year

Public schools in Kentucky

Kentucky has 1,550 open public schools run by 177 districts and other education agencies, enrolling 655,997 students. Schools average 15.6 students per teacher, compared with 15.3 nationally.

State totals

Districts
177
Schools
1,550
Students
655,997
Teachers (FTE)
42,358
Students per teacher
15.6
US: 15.3
Charter schools
0
Total spending
$9.19 billion
2020 finance data
Spending per pupil
$13,951
2020 finance data. US: $16,826

In the 2020 finance data, districts in Kentucky spent $13,951 per pupil, which is below the US figure of $16,826. Dollars are nominal and not adjusted for regional costs or inflation.

Download all 1,550 Kentucky schools (CSV)

School districts in Kentucky

All 177 districts and agencies, largest first. Filter by name or city, or sort any column.
Jefferson County Public SchoolsLouisville17295,18015.2$16,716
Fayette County Public SchoolsLexington8042,13813.8$16,527
Boone County Public SchoolsFlorence2820,51415.6$14,155
Warren County Public SchoolsBowling Green3418,55916.4$12,057
Hardin County Public SchoolsElizabethtown2714,58315.4$13,035
Kenton County Public SchoolsFort Wright2213,83417.7$11,567
Bullitt County Public SchoolsShepherdsville2513,00717.1$11,913
Oldham County Public SchoolsBuckner2312,03816.8$12,743
Madison County Public SchoolsRichmond2211,13215.8$12,234
Daviess County Public SchoolsOwensboro2410,94816.4$13,999
Scott County Public SchoolsGeorgetown179,83015.3$11,853
Laurel County Public SchoolsLondon198,67616.1$11,330
Jessamine County Public SchoolsNicholasville148,33114.3$13,034
Christian County Public SchoolsHopkinsville198,09215.8$11,980
Pulaski County Public SchoolsSomerset147,72916.0$10,910
Pike County Public SchoolsPikeville207,51515.0$13,297
Shelby County Public SchoolsShelbyville156,98516.9$12,773
McCracken County Public SchoolsPaducah146,78216.2$14,306
Henderson County Public SchoolsHenderson136,70716.0$14,260
Hopkins County Public SchoolsMadisonville186,26514.7$11,575
Franklin County Public SchoolsFrankfort166,19914.7$12,491
Clark County Public SchoolsWinchester105,55215.4$14,200
Floyd County Public SchoolsEastern145,34715.3$14,670
Campbell County Public SchoolsAlexandria105,16616.1$13,160
Owensboro Independent School DistrictOwensboro135,04913.8$15,867
Meade County Public SchoolsBrandenburg94,92218.9$11,621
Barren County Public SchoolsGlasgow114,90815.5$14,817
Bowling Green Independent School DistrictBowling Green104,83116.4$17,871
Montgomery County Public SchoolsMount Sterling84,44216.6$10,861
Muhlenberg County Public SchoolsPowderly104,41014.9$12,752
Marshall County Public SchoolsBenton124,30215.4$12,474
Whitley County Public SchoolsWilliamsburg114,23414.9$12,455
Nelson County Public SchoolsBardstown134,22715.3$12,662
Woodford County Public SchoolsVersailles84,06416.0$12,114
Grayson County Public SchoolsLeitchfield94,03016.4$11,479
Carter County Public SchoolsGrayson123,98316.3$11,318
Graves County Public SchoolsMayfield103,90615.3$11,737
Ohio County Public SchoolsHartford103,72616.2$11,610
Knox County Public SchoolsBarbourville143,71812.1$14,213
Anderson County Public SchoolsLawrenceburg73,63315.7$11,725
Covington Independent School DistrictCovington113,55713.3$16,702
Logan County Public SchoolsRussellville73,44316.4$12,069
Perry County Public SchoolsHazard93,43815.4$12,792
Rowan County Public SchoolsMorehead113,43517.8$12,786
Spencer County Public SchoolsTaylorsville63,34117.2$12,615
Harlan County Public SchoolsHarlan113,32713.3$14,342
Johnson County Public SchoolsPaintsville113,29213.2$12,710
Lincoln County Public SchoolsStanford73,24013.8$12,434
Grant County Public SchoolsWilliamstown63,21618.0$12,870
Fort Thomas Independent School DistrictFort Thomas53,17016.4$16,950
Showing 1 to 50 of 177

Kentucky district rankings

Ratio and spending lists include only districts with 1,000 or more students, so very small districts do not dominate. These are factual sorts, not quality ratings.

Largest districts

  1. 1.Jefferson County Public Schools95,180
  2. 2.Fayette County Public Schools42,138
  3. 3.Boone County Public Schools20,514
  4. 4.Warren County Public Schools18,559
  5. 5.Hardin County Public Schools14,583
  6. 6.Kenton County Public Schools13,834
  7. 7.Bullitt County Public Schools13,007
  8. 8.Oldham County Public Schools12,038
  9. 9.Madison County Public Schools11,132
  10. 10.Daviess County Public Schools10,948

Lowest student-teacher ratio

  1. 1.Newport Independent School District10.9
  2. 2.Knox County Public Schools12.1
  3. 3.Wolfe County Public Schools12.5
  4. 4.Knott County Public Schools12.7
  5. 5.Middlesboro Independent School District12.8
  6. 6.Boyd County Public Schools13.0
  7. 7.Clinton County Public Schools13.0
  8. 8.Danville Independent School District13.1
  9. 9.Johnson County Public Schools13.2
  10. 10.Covington Independent School District13.3

Highest student-teacher ratio

  1. 1.Cloverport Independent School District22.4
  2. 2.Trimble County Public Schools19.6
  3. 3.Beechwood Independent School District18.9
  4. 4.Meade County Public Schools18.9
  5. 5.Webster County Public Schools18.2
  6. 6.Washington County Public Schools18.1
  7. 7.Nicholas County Public Schools18.0
  8. 8.Grant County Public Schools18.0
  9. 9.Rowan County Public Schools17.8
  10. 10.Caldwell County Public Schools17.7

Highest spending per pupil (2020)

  1. 1.Newport Independent School District$22,423
  2. 2.Eminence Independent School District$18,204
  3. 3.Bowling Green Independent School District$17,871
  4. 4.Boyle County Public Schools$17,382
  5. 5.Fort Thomas Independent School District$16,950
  6. 6.Trigg County Public Schools$16,735
  7. 7.Hazard Independent School District$16,731
  8. 8.Jefferson County Public Schools$16,716
  9. 9.Covington Independent School District$16,702
  10. 10.Estill County Public Schools$16,636

Lowest spending per pupil (2020)

  1. 1.Montgomery County Public Schools$10,861
  2. 2.Pulaski County Public Schools$10,910
  3. 3.Pendleton County Public Schools$11,114
  4. 4.Caldwell County Public Schools$11,144
  5. 5.Calloway County Public Schools$11,316
  6. 6.Carter County Public Schools$11,318
  7. 7.Laurel County Public Schools$11,330
  8. 8.Allen County Public Schools$11,382
  9. 9.Elizabethtown Independent School District$11,467
  10. 10.Grayson County Public Schools$11,479

Schools by level

450 high schools, 219 middle schools and 720 elementary schools. The largest of each are listed below; use search or a district page for the rest.

High schools 450

  1. Lafayette High School Lexington, 2,370 students
  2. Ballard High Louisville, 2,148 students
  3. Madison Central High School Richmond, 2,107 students
  4. Larry A. Ryle High School Union, 2,077 students
  5. Bryan Station High School Lexington, 2,030 students
  6. Henry Clay High School Lexington, 1,939 students
  7. duPont Manual High Louisville, 1,899 students
  8. Simon Kenton High School Independence, 1,893 students
  9. Marion C. Moore School Louisville, 1,892 students
  10. McCracken County High School Paducah, 1,882 students
  11. Henderson County High School Henderson, 1,852 students
  12. Central Hardin High School Cecilia, 1,831 students
  13. Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Lexington, 1,828 students
  14. Eastern High Middletown, 1,790 students
  15. Pleasure Ridge Park High Louisville, 1,777 students

Middle schools 219

  1. Stuart Middle School Louisville, 1,166 students
  2. Noe Middle Louisville, 1,155 students
  3. Ramsey Middle Louisville, 1,151 students
  4. Edythe Jones Hayes Middle School Lexington, 1,125 students
  5. Campbell County Middle School Alexandria, 1,099 students
  6. Leestown Middle School Lexington, 1,084 students
  7. Bowling Green Junior High Bowling Green, 1,042 students
  8. Gray Middle School Union, 1,006 students
  9. Turkey Foot Middle School Edgewood, 1,006 students
  10. Jessie M Clark Middle School Lexington, 1,002 students
  11. Westport Middle Louisville, 988 students
  12. North Laurel Middle School London, 970 students
  13. East Jessamine Middle School Nicholasville, 944 students
  14. Thomas Jefferson Middle Louisville, 943 students
  15. McNabb Middle School Mount Sterling, 928 students

Elementary schools 720

  1. Summit View Academy Independence, 1,324 students
  2. Allen County Primary Center Scottsville, 1,000 students
  3. Rich Pond Elementary Bowling Green, 990 students
  4. Mayfield Elementary School Mayfield, 987 students
  5. Longbranch Elementary School Union, 957 students
  6. River Ridge Elementary School Villa Hills, 889 students
  7. Lost River Elementary Bowling Green, 856 students
  8. Jennings Creek Elementary Bowling Green, 852 students
  9. Bardstown Elementary School Bardstown, 847 students
  10. Valley Elementary School Pikeville, 844 students
  11. Corbin Primary Corbin, 815 students
  12. Barry Hahn Primary School Brandenburg, 807 students
  13. Marnel C. Moorman School Shelbyville, 803 students
  14. Spencer County Elementary School Taylorsville, 801 students
  15. Tully Elementary Louisville, 791 students

Cities with the most public schools

Neighbouring states

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 and F-33 finance 2020, via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. Last reviewed October 2026. Finance figures are 2020 finance data in nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Blank values are not available, not applicable or suppressed in the source. See the methodology.