Albany, NY — New Yorkers can now view a district-by-district comparison of public school enrollment rates, thanks to new data mapped by the Empire Center. The map allows users to see enrollment changes in individual public school districts, and depicts population changes in one, two and ten year periods.

New York’s K-12 public school enrollment has dropped substantially for a second year in a row, for a total decline of 5 percent since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Final figures for the 2020-21 school year showed a 2.64 percent drop from 2019-20.

The maps display public school enrollment data by county and by region. Despite the overall drop in traditional public school enrollment, public charter school enrollment rose by 14,502 students during the same two year period, from 159,211 to 173,713.

Although New York already spends more per pupil than any state in the country—nearly twice the national average—the budget proposes an increase of $1.6 billion, or 8.1 percent, in state operating aid (aka Foundation Aid) for the public schools for the coming year. Mayor Eric Adams has announced, as part of his preliminary budget, that public schools that have seen a decline in enrollment will see a corresponding decline in government funding.

The maps can be viewed here.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.