Public schools in Tennessee
1,913 operating public schools in 149 school districts and other education agencies, school year 2024–25.
Operating schoolsDefinition
1,913
Enrollment (sum of schools)Definition
1,002,363
Teachers (FTE, sum of schools)Definition
Not reported by the state
Students per teacher FTEDefinition
Not reported by the state
Charter schoolsDefinition
114
Largest districts by enrollment
Sorted by enrollment (a size measure, not a quality ranking). 19 Tennessee districts have full profiles so far; search all 149.
| District | City | Schools | Students | Students / FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis-Shelby County Schools | Memphis | 223 | 111,125 | — |
| Davidson County | Nashville | 162 | 81,022 | — |
| Knox County | Knoxville | 95 | 60,185 | — |
| Rutherford County | Murfreesboro | 55 | 52,127 | — |
| Hamilton County | Chattanooga | 82 | 45,981 | — |
| Williamson County | Franklin | 52 | 41,593 | — |
| Montgomery County | Clarksville | 44 | 39,385 | — |
| Sumner County | Gallatin | 53 | 30,719 | — |
| Wilson County | Mt Juliet | 25 | 20,703 | — |
| Sevier County | Sevierville | 33 | 14,408 | — |
| Maury County | Columbia | 24 | 13,098 | — |
| Madison County | Jackson | 26 | 13,017 | — |
| Putnam County | Cookeville | 22 | 11,776 | — |
| Robertson County | Springfield | 23 | 11,267 | — |
| Hamblen County | Morristown | 18 | 10,300 | — |
Schools by locale
| Group | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| City | 33.8% | |
| Suburb | 14.8% | |
| Town | 15.2% | |
| Rural | 36.3% |
Schools by level
| Group | Schools | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary | 1,022 | |
| High | 422 | |
| Middle | 346 | |
| Other | 78 | |
| Prekindergarten | 42 | |
| Secondary | 3 |
NCES reports that Tennessee teacher counts are missing from the 2024–25 Common Core of Data, so Tennessee ratios are not shown.
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.