Earlier this year the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), which is collocated with Arlington Diocese’s offices, produced a 6-page report on the status Catholic education in the U.S. This report showed strong support for Catholic education in recent years and an increase in diversity of both its students and staffs. The following are some of the key statistics from the 2023-2024 school year:
1.7M students in Catholic School Pre-K - 12th Grade (compared with +50M in public school)
79% of students were Catholic
19% of student were Hispanic
14% of students used parental choice programs
10% of students were in Pre-K
8% of students have a learning disability
5,905 Catholic schools (compared with 130,000 public schools)
20 School Openings
55 School Closures/Reorganizations - the fewest in years (compared with 755 public school closings)
38% of schools have a waitlist
18% of elementary schools are diocesan (vice 2.3% in 1990), which is a result of consolidation from purely parish-based schools
84% of staff members were Catholic
20 states expanded Parental Choice programs in 2023