schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Kansas public school districts

Compare district systems across Kansas 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 Kansas, 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

Wichita

46,101 reported students

Check county context

Woodson County

88/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Kansas

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.

290 districts in state file

Kansas public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Wichita

LEA ID 2012990

Sedgwick County88 schools
46,101
2
Olathe

LEA ID 2010140

Johnson County51 schools
29,033
3
Shawnee Mission Pub Sch

LEA ID 2011640

Johnson County45 schools
26,422
4
Blue Valley

LEA ID 2012000

Johnson County36 schools
22,349
5
Kansas City

LEA ID 2007950

Wyandotte County43 schools
22,013
6
Topeka Public Schools

LEA ID 2012260

Shawnee County26 schools
12,351
7
Lawrence

LEA ID 2008400

Douglas County20 schools
10,908
8
Andover

LEA ID 2003360

Butler County11 schools
8,987
9
Maize

LEA ID 2009140

Sedgwick County12 schools
7,998
10
Geary County Schools

LEA ID 2007890

Geary County15 schools
7,340
11
Derby

LEA ID 2005460

Sedgwick County13 schools
7,285
12
Garden City

LEA ID 2006390

Finney County18 schools
7,233
13
Dodge City

LEA ID 2005580

Ford County11 schools
7,233
14
De Soto

LEA ID 2005490

Johnson County13 schools
7,227
15
Manhattan-Ogden

LEA ID 2009180

Riley County14 schools
7,066
16
Salina

LEA ID 2011370

Saline County13 schools
6,724
17
Goddard

LEA ID 2006540

Sedgwick County12 schools
6,310
18
Auburn Washburn

LEA ID 2003200

Shawnee County9 schools
6,059
19
Gardner Edgerton

LEA ID 2006420

Johnson County11 schools
5,989
20
Haysville

LEA ID 2007050

Sedgwick County9 schools
5,788
21
Spring Hill

LEA ID 2011850

Johnson County10 schools
5,357
22
Liberal

LEA ID 2008730

Seward County8 schools
4,659
23
Emporia

LEA ID 2005940

Lyon County8 schools
4,349
24
Hutchinson Public Schools

LEA ID 2007620

Reno County11 schools
4,006
25
Seaman

LEA ID 2011490

Shawnee County7 schools
3,890
26
Turner-Kansas City

LEA ID 2012360

Wyandotte County8 schools
3,880
27
Shawnee Heights

LEA ID 2012180

Shawnee County6 schools
3,748
28
Leavenworth

LEA ID 2008430

Leavenworth County8 schools
3,604
29
Pittsburg

LEA ID 2010710

Crawford County6 schools
3,390
30
Hays

LEA ID 2007020

Ellis County7 schools
3,380
31
Valley Center Pub Sch

LEA ID 2012510

Sedgwick County7 schools
3,195
32
Newton

LEA ID 2009960

Harvey County9 schools
3,187
33
Basehor-Linwood

LEA ID 2003780

Leavenworth County7 schools
3,041
34
Arkansas City

LEA ID 2003450

Cowley County8 schools
2,887
35
Great Bend

LEA ID 2006660

Barton County7 schools
2,756
36
Lansing

LEA ID 2008340

Leavenworth County4 schools
2,634
37
Piper-Kansas City

LEA ID 2010680

Wyandotte County4 schools
2,634
38
Buhler

LEA ID 2004200

Reno County7 schools
2,543
39
Bonner Springs

LEA ID 2004050

Wyandotte County5 schools
2,427
40
Ottawa

LEA ID 2000015

Franklin County6 schools
2,344
41
McPherson

LEA ID 2009390

McPherson County6 schools
2,270
42
Winfield

LEA ID 2013050

Cowley County6 schools
2,094
43
El Dorado

LEA ID 2005730

Butler County6 schools
2,083
44
Circle

LEA ID 2012300

Butler County6 schools
2,062
45
Augusta

LEA ID 2003630

Butler County5 schools
2,028
46
Renwick

LEA ID 2011080

Sedgwick County6 schools
1,946
47
Tonganoxie

LEA ID 2012210

Leavenworth County3 schools
1,925
48
Fort Scott

LEA ID 2006180

Bourbon County4 schools
1,839
49
Chanute Public Schools

LEA ID 2004590

Neosho County3 schools
1,815
50
Mulvane

LEA ID 2009840

Sedgwick County4 schools
1,814
51
Independence

LEA ID 2007650

Montgomery County5 schools
1,811
52
Louisburg

LEA ID 2008970

Miami County5 schools
1,802
53
Paola

LEA ID 2010500

Miami County4 schools
1,776
54
Coffeyville

LEA ID 2004980

Montgomery County4 schools
1,764
55
Fort Leavenworth

LEA ID 2006330

Leavenworth County4 schools
1,729
56
Central Plains

LEA ID 2000349

Ellsworth County5 schools
1,718
57
Rose Hill Public Schools

LEA ID 2011250

Butler County4 schools
1,708
58
Eudora

LEA ID 2006090

Douglas County4 schools
1,706
59
Elkhart

LEA ID 2005790

Morton County5 schools
1,668
60
Wamego

LEA ID 2000003

Pottawatomie County5 schools
1,641

— = 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.

88

Students
415
Schools
2

88

Students
840
Schools
2

Smith Center

Smith County

86

Students
453
Schools
2

Burlington

Coffey County

85

Students
840
Schools
3

Lebo-Waverly

Coffey County

85

Students
495
Schools
4

LeRoy-Gridley

Coffey County

85

Students
170
Schools
3

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 Kansas School Districts

What are the best school districts in Kansas?
Wichita, Olathe, Shawnee Mission Pub Sch are the largest Kansas 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 Kansas 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 30 Kansas 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 Kansas?
This page includes 290 Kansas 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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