schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Florida public school districts

Compare district systems across Florida by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

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Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in Florida, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

MIAMI-DADE

335,909 reported students

Check county context

Monroe County

74/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Florida

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

73 districts in state file

Florida public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
MIAMI-DADE

LEA ID 1200390

Miami-Dade County539 schools
335,909
2
BROWARD

LEA ID 1200180

Broward County329 schools
254,732
3
HILLSBOROUGH

LEA ID 1200870

Hillsborough County306 schools
224,384
4
ORANGE

LEA ID 1201440

Orange County275 schools
208,341
5
PALM BEACH

LEA ID 1201500

Palm Beach County234 schools
190,567
6
DUVAL

LEA ID 1200480

Duval County209 schools
129,680
7
POLK

LEA ID 1201590

Polk County164 schools
114,483
8
LEE

LEA ID 1201080

Lee County121 schools
99,354
9
PINELLAS

LEA ID 1201560

Pinellas County154 schools
93,702
10
PASCO

LEA ID 1201530

Pasco County103 schools
84,032
11
BREVARD

LEA ID 1200150

Brevard County111 schools
74,125
12
OSCEOLA

LEA ID 1201470

Osceola County83 schools
73,325
13
SEMINOLE

LEA ID 1201710

Seminole County77 schools
66,680
14
VOLUSIA

LEA ID 1201920

Volusia County90 schools
63,365
15
MANATEE

LEA ID 1201230

Manatee County81 schools
51,234
16
ST. JOHNS

LEA ID 1201740

St. Johns County55 schools
50,151
17
COLLIER

LEA ID 1200330

Collier County73 schools
48,082
18
LAKE

LEA ID 1201050

Lake County61 schools
47,444
19
ST. LUCIE

LEA ID 1201770

St. Lucie County52 schools
45,661
20
SARASOTA

LEA ID 1201680

Sarasota County62 schools
45,077
21
MARION

LEA ID 1201260

Marion County63 schools
44,493
22
CLAY

LEA ID 1200300

Clay County51 schools
39,210
23
ESCAMBIA

LEA ID 1200510

Escambia County70 schools
37,851
24
OKALOOSA

LEA ID 1201380

Okaloosa County52 schools
32,733
25
LEON

LEA ID 1201110

Leon County56 schools
32,159
26
SANTA ROSA

LEA ID 1201650

Santa Rosa County41 schools
30,761
27
ALACHUA

LEA ID 1200030

Alachua County62 schools
28,916
28
BAY

LEA ID 1200090

Bay County49 schools
27,323
29
HERNANDO

LEA ID 1200810

Hernando County32 schools
24,058
30
MARTIN

LEA ID 1201290

Martin County35 schools
18,628
31
INDIAN RIVER

LEA ID 1200930

Indian River County28 schools
17,199
32
CHARLOTTE

LEA ID 1200240

Charlotte County25 schools
16,834
33
CITRUS

LEA ID 1200270

Citrus County28 schools
15,951
34
HENDRY

LEA ID 1200780

Hendry County15 schools
13,825
35
FLAGLER

LEA ID 1200540

Flagler County13 schools
13,331
36
NASSAU

LEA ID 1201350

Nassau County21 schools
12,588
37
HIGHLANDS

LEA ID 1200840

Highlands County24 schools
12,362
38
WALTON

LEA ID 1201980

Walton County23 schools
11,575
39
PUTNAM

LEA ID 1201620

Putnam County19 schools
10,293
40
COLUMBIA

LEA ID 1200360

Columbia County19 schools
9,887
41
SUMTER

LEA ID 1201800

Sumter County12 schools
9,404
42
MONROE

LEA ID 1201320

Monroe County24 schools
8,929
43
FL VIRTUAL

LEA ID 1200002

Orange County3 schools
8,559
44
OKEECHOBEE

LEA ID 1201410

Okeechobee County13 schools
6,398
45
JACKSON

LEA ID 1200960

Jackson County19 schools
6,076
46
SUWANNEE

LEA ID 1201830

Suwannee County13 schools
5,935
47
LEVY

LEA ID 1201140

Levy County15 schools
5,662
48
WAKULLA

LEA ID 1201950

Wakulla County15 schools
5,156
49
BAKER

LEA ID 1200060

Baker County9 schools
5,003
50
HARDEE

LEA ID 1200750

Hardee County11 schools
4,901
51
GADSDEN

LEA ID 1200600

Gadsden County17 schools
4,616
52
DESOTO

LEA ID 1200420

DeSoto County11 schools
4,582
53
HOLMES

LEA ID 1200900

Holmes County10 schools
3,233
54
WASHINGTON

LEA ID 1202010

Washington County10 schools
3,231
55
BRADFORD

LEA ID 1200120

Bradford County10 schools
2,998
56
GILCHRIST

LEA ID 1200630

Gilchrist County7 schools
2,839
57
FAU LAB SCH

LEA ID 1202012

Palm Beach County2 schools
2,785
58
TAYLOR

LEA ID 1201860

Taylor County9 schools
2,783
59
FSU LAB SCH

LEA ID 1202013

Leon County3 schools
2,574
60
MADISON

LEA ID 1201200

Madison County13 schools
2,418

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

74

Students
8,929
Schools
24
Open district guide

59

Students
45,077
Schools
62
Open district guide

58

Students
48,082
Schools
73
Open district guide

54

Students
1,144
Schools
5

51

Students
190,567
Schools
234
Open district guide

51

Students
2,785
Schools
2

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About Florida School Districts

What are the best school districts in Florida?
MIAMI-DADE, BROWARD, HILLSBOROUGH are the largest Florida district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are Florida districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 52 Florida districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for Florida?
This page includes 73 Florida public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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