Research · High schools - Kansas · October 2026
How Many High Schools Are in Kansas? 345 Public and 56 Private
As of October 2026: Kansas has 401 high schools: 345 public and 56 private. The largest is East High in Wichita, with 2,434 students in grades 9 through 12.
The table lists the 15 largest public high schools in Kansas by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Kansas has 401 high schools. 345 are public and 56 are private. The 337 public high schools that report enrollment hold 140,385 students in grades 9 through 12 between them. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
East High is the largest public high school in Kansas. It enrolls 2,434 students in grades 9 through 12 in Wichita. The 15th largest school on the table, Lawrence Free State High in Lawrence, enrolls 1,774. None of the 15 largest are charter schools.
The largest private high school in Kansas is Bishop Carroll Catholic High School. It enrolls 1,169 students in Wichita. That is smaller than every public school on the table above. Private schools report total enrollment to the federal survey, so a school that also teaches younger grades counts those students too. Only schools whose lowest grade is 9 are listed here, so each one is a high school.
The 15 largest public high schools in Kansas
Ranked by the number of students in grades 9 through 12.
| High school | City | Students in grades 9-12 | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East High | Wichita | 2,434 | No |
| Derby High School | Derby | 2,172 | No |
| Dodge City High School | Dodge City | 2,151 | No |
| Manhattan High School | Manhattan | 2,087 | No |
| Southeast High | Wichita | 2,066 | No |
| North High | Wichita | 2,041 | No |
| Olathe North Sr High | Olathe | 2,010 | No |
| Olathe Northwest High School | Olathe | 1,957 | No |
| Garden City High School | Garden City | 1,946 | No |
| Wyandotte High | Kansas City | 1,902 | No |
| Washburn Rural High | Topeka | 1,866 | No |
| Olathe East Sr High | Olathe | 1,842 | No |
| Gardner Edgerton High | Gardner | 1,794 | No |
| Olathe South Sr High | Olathe | 1,775 | No |
| Lawrence Free State High | Lawrence | 1,774 | No |
NCES Common Core of Data, grade 9-12 enrollment. Virtual schools are excluded. Absence from this list means a school is not among the largest, nothing more.
The largest private high schools in Kansas
Private schools whose lowest grade is 9, by total enrollment.
| High school | City | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Carroll Catholic High School | Wichita | 1,169 |
| Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School | Wichita | 906 |
| St Thomas Aquinas High School | Overland Park | 880 |
| Bishop Miege High School | Shawnee Mission | 665 |
| Hayden Catholic High School | Topeka | 335 |
NCES Private School Universe Survey 2021-22, respondents only. Total enrollment, not a grades 9-12 count.
What these counts cover
A high school here is a school that serves grade 12. Virtual schools are left out, because a school with no building is not comparable to one with a campus. Public counts come from the federal Common Core of Data, which every public district reports to. Private counts come from the federal Private School Universe Survey.
Enrollment for public schools is the number of students in grades 9 through 12, so a school that also teaches middle school grades is not inflated by them. A school that reports no enrollment figure is counted in the state total but cannot be ranked, which is why the number of schools with an enrollment figure is smaller than the public count.
Private high schools in Kansas
The private table below shows the largest private high schools whose lowest grade is 9. The survey is voluntary, so treat these as the largest among the schools that answered, not a complete ranking. A private school that declines the survey does not appear at all.
Private enrollment is a total, not a grades 9 through 12 count, because the survey does not break it out the same way. Limiting the list to schools that start at grade 9 keeps the figures comparable to each other.
What a family should do with this
Size is a starting point, not a verdict. A large school usually offers more courses, more sports and more clubs, and a small school usually gives a student more contact with the adults who write recommendation letters. Both shapes send students to good colleges.
The more useful question is where a school's own graduates actually go. Our page for each Kansas high school carries that school's figures and, where the school publishes one, its own numbered list of the colleges its graduates chose. Start from the school page rather than from the size of the building.
Questions parents ask
How many high schools are in Kansas?
Kansas has 401 high schools: 345 public and 56 private. The largest is East High in Wichita, with 2,434 students in grades 9 through 12.
What is the largest high school in Kansas?
It enrolls 2,434 students in grades 9 through 12 in Wichita.
Are private high schools included in the Kansas count?
345 are public and 56 are private. The private count is a floor, because the federal private school survey is voluntary and a school can skip it.
Method & sources: Public school counts and grade 9-12 enrollment come from the NCES Common Core of Data; private counts and enrollment come from the NCES Private School Universe Survey, whose respondents are a floor. A high school is a school serving grade 12; virtual schools are excluded. The public table is ranked by grade 9-12 enrollment, and schools without an enrollment figure are counted in the state total but not ranked.
This brief as data: /research/high-schools-in-kansas.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
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