Public + private high schools, every state.
Browse by state: AKALARAZCACOCTDCDEFLGAGUHIIAIDILINKSKYLAMAMDMEMIMNMOMSMTNCNDNENHNJNMNVNYOHOKORPAPRRISCSDTNTXUTVAVIVTWAWIWVWY
1,186
high schools (public + private)
771
public (655 districts)
415
private (NCES PSS)
132,951
public grade‑12 students (seniors, latest year)

PA public HS enrollment trend

Across the 506,720 students enrolled in PA brick-and-mortar public high schools in 2021, the state contracted -0.6% by 2024 (503,551 students, -3,169 net). That's the demographic tide every individual school is fighting or riding.

Charter share of public HS enrollment (latest year): 4.8% (24,151 of 503,551 students). Virtual / nonclassroom-based schools excluded.

State context · NAEP 2024

How does PA compare nationally?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only test given the same way to students in every state — making it the benchmark for state-to-state academic comparison. Below, this state's 8th-grade averages and where it sits on the 50-state distribution.

8th-grade math
277
+4 vs national avg (273)
8th-grade reading
264
+4 vs national avg (260)
national avg PA Math → Reading → 260 290 245 275

Each dot is one state's 2024 NAEP 8th-grade averages. PA is highlighted in gold. Dashed lines mark national averages — being upper-right of both = above national in both subjects. Source: NAEP State Snapshot Reports. NAEP doesn't produce per-school scores — this is state-level context.

Where the students are

Top 10 cities by public-HS enrollment

Philadelphia 85 HS 50,336
Pittsburgh 31 HS 19,074
Allentown 8 HS 10,132
Reading 5 HS 7,737
Harrisburg 8 HS 7,466
York 7 HS 7,051
Erie 7 HS 6,585
Lancaster 5 HS 6,256
Bethlehem 5 HS 5,446
Mechanicsburg 3 HS 4,603

School-size distribution

Public, classroom-based · grades 9–12, latest year

Fastest-growing high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
Strawberry Mansion HS
Philadelphia City SD
164→309 +88.4%
YouthBuild Phila CS
Youth Build Phila CS
169→271 +60.4%
MaST Community CS II
MaST Community CS II
243→367 +51.0%
West Philadelphia HS
Philadelphia City SD
481→718 +49.3%
Belmont CS
Belmont CS
192→276 +43.8%
Abington SHS
Abington SD
1,954→2,692 +37.8%
York Academy Regional CS
York Academy Regional CS
154→211 +37.0%
Fels Samuel HS
Philadelphia City SD
945→1,255 +32.8%
Butler Area SHS
Butler Area SD
1,480→1,956 +32.2%
STEM at Showalter
Chester-Upland SD
370→477 +28.9%
Fastest-shrinking high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
Motivation HS
Philadelphia City SD
390→199 -49.0%
Dobbins Area Vocational-Technical High School
Philadelphia City SD
1,049→581 -44.6%
Parkway West
Philadelphia City SD
268→149 -44.4%
Lankenau HS
Philadelphia City SD
349→228 -34.7%
The U School: Innovative Lab
Philadelphia City SD
293→195 -33.4%
Mariana Bracetti Academy CS
Mariana Bracetti Academy CS
490→327 -33.3%
Rockwood Area JSHS
Rockwood Area SD
258→178 -31.0%
Mastery CS-Gratz Campus
Mastery CS-Gratz Campus
1,094→767 -29.9%
Hempfield Area SHS
Hempfield Area SD
1,709→1,228 -28.1%
Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson
Philadelphia City SD
379→273 -28.0%

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