Catholic School Trend Data
Catholic School Trend Data
U. S. Catholic school enrollment reached its peak during the early 1960s when there were more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steep decline in both the number of schools and students. By 1990, there were approximately 2.5 million students in 8,719 schools. From the mid 1990s though 2000, there was a steady enrollment increase (1.3%) despite continued closings of schools.
Between the 2000 and the 2012 school years, 1,942 schools were reported closed or consolidated (23.8%). The number of students declined by 621,583 (23.4 %). The most seriously impacted have been elementary schools.
Highlights
Enrollment:
• Total Catholic school student enrollment for the current academic year is 2,031,455.
1,440,572 in elementary/middle schools; 590,883 in secondary schools
• Student diversity: 19.3% are racial minorities, 13.9% are Hispanic/Latino and 6.5% were reported as unknown in the racial data collection.
• Non-Catholic enrollment is 312,732 which is 15.4% of the total enrollment.
Schools:
• There are 6,841 Catholic schools: 5,636 elementary; 1,205 secondary.
• 34 new schools opened; 167 consolidated or closed.
• 1,951 schools have a waiting list for admission.
The student/teacher ratio is 13:1.
Professional Staff:
· Full-time equivalent professional staff numbered 151,395:
96.7%: Laity (Lay women: 74.9% Lay men: 21.8%)
3.3%: Religious/Clergy (Sisters: 2.3%; Brothers: 0.5%; Clergy: 0.5%)
National Catholic Education Association
