Public schools in South Carolina
1,277 operating public schools in 92 school districts and other education agencies, school year 2024–25.
Operating schoolsDefinition
1,277
Enrollment (sum of schools)Definition
796,780
Teachers (FTE, sum of schools)Definition
56,583.2
Students per teacher FTEDefinition
14.1
Charter schoolsDefinition
104
Largest districts by enrollment
Sorted by enrollment (a size measure, not a quality ranking). 27 South Carolina districts have full profiles so far; search all 92.
| District | City | Schools | Students | Students / FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville 01 | Greenville | 92 | 77,774 | — |
| Charleston 01 | Charleston | 83 | 50,856 | 13.4 |
| Horry 01 | Myrtle Beach | 57 | 48,662 | 15.3 |
| Berkeley 01 | Goose Creek | 46 | 39,423 | 16.4 |
| Richland 02 | Columbia | 32 | 28,841 | 14 |
| Lexington 01 | Lexington | 32 | 27,074 | 13.2 |
| Charter Institute at Erskine | Greenville | 26 | 26,014 | 16.6 |
| Dorchester 02 | Summerville | 25 | 25,928 | 15.4 |
| Aiken 01 | Aiken | 41 | 22,916 | 14.9 |
| Richland 01 | Columbia | 48 | 21,814 | 12.4 |
| SC Public Charter School District | Greenville | 44 | 21,383 | 14.7 |
| Beaufort 01 | Beaufort | 32 | 21,050 | 11.3 |
| York 04 | Fort Mill | 20 | 18,445 | 13.2 |
| Lexington 05 | Irmo | 23 | 17,053 | 12.1 |
| Pickens 01 | Easley | 24 | 16,313 | 14.4 |
Schools by locale
| Group | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| City | 19.0% | |
| Suburb | 29.8% | |
| Town | 11.9% | |
| Rural | 39.3% |
Schools by level
| Group | Schools | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary | 691 | |
| High | 298 | |
| Middle | 250 | |
| Other | 28 | |
| Prekindergarten | 7 | |
| Secondary | 3 |
Sources for this page
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), School Directory 2024–25, version 1a. File
ccd_sch_029_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, last checked 2026-11-06. - NCES CCD School Membership 2024–25, version 1a. File
ccd_sch_052_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, last checked 2026-11-06. - NCES CCD School Staff 2024–25, version 1a. File
ccd_sch_059_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, last checked 2026-11-06. - NCES EDGE Public School Geocodes 2024–25. File
EDGE_GEOCODE_PUBLICSCH_2425.zip, last checked 2026-11-06.
Figures are republished from official files without adjustment, except where a page says a value is summed or derived. See methodology and definitions & limitations. Spotted a problem? Report a data issue.