Pennsylvania Schools & Education

Public school metrics and education data for all 67 counties.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Avg Graduation Rate

90.3%

Avg Per-Pupil Spending

$10,336

Avg School Score

72/100

Total Schools

2,936

752 districts

State Overview

About Schools in Pennsylvania

This summary is generated from the NCES metrics shown on this page and reviewed against the source data by the Data Editor. It is not school advice.

Pennsylvania Outpaces the Nation in Graduation and Performance

Pennsylvania posts a strong 90.3% average graduation rate, significantly outpacing the national average of 87.0%. Despite spending only $10,336 per pupil compared to the $13,000 national benchmark, the state maintains a robust 60.9 school score.

A Sharp Performance Divide Across 67 Diverse Counties

Education outcomes vary wildly across the Commonwealth's 67 counties, with graduation rates ranging from a high of 97.0% in Montour to a low of 71.4% in Beaver. School scores fluctuate between a 71.8 peak in Wayne and a 47.8 low in Philadelphia, illustrating a 24-point performance gap.

High Efficiency Despite Lower-Than-Average Spending

Pennsylvania achieves a higher-than-average graduation rate of 90.3% while spending nearly $2,700 less per student than the national average. This high ROI is challenged in areas like Philadelphia, which struggles with the state's lowest spending at $8,061 and the state's lowest school score.

Rural Leaders Set the State Performance Benchmarks

Wayne, Wyoming, and Sullivan counties lead the state with school scores near 70.0 and graduation rates reaching as high as 97.0%. These top performers benefit from higher-than-average investments, with Wayne County spending $14,055 per pupil to secure the state's top score of 71.8.

State Score Context

How Pennsylvania Counties Are Distributed

67 of 67 counties have enough NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data to receive a county school score. Use this distribution to understand whether the state has a concentrated cluster of high, midrange, or lower measured signals.

Scored county coverage

Counties with complete enough data for the composite score

100%

Higher measured signal

Score range 70-100

Midrange measured signal

Score range 40-69

Lower measured signal

Score range 0-39

Scores are comparative signals from available federal data, not ratings of individual schools.

Highest Measured School Signals

Wyoming County

96/100

School score

Wayne County

95/100

School score

Montour County

95/100

School score

Sullivan County

92/100

School score

Centre County

92/100

School score

Lowest Measured School Signals

#1 lowest

Philadelphia County

34/100

School score

#2 lowest

Dauphin County

41/100

School score

#3 lowest

Beaver County

43/100

School score

#4 lowest

Northumberland County

51/100

School score

#5 lowest

Erie County

55/100

School score

All Pennsylvania Counties

County-level school score, graduation rate, and per-pupil spending for Pennsylvania.
County	School Score	Graduation Rate	Per-Pupil Spending
Wyoming County Graduation 97.0% Per pupil $12,718	96/100	97.0%	$12,718
Wayne County Graduation 95.8% Per pupil $14,055	95/100	95.8%	$14,055
Montour County Graduation 97.0% Per pupil $11,205	95/100	97.0%	$11,205
Sullivan County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil $13,179	92/100	95.0%	$13,179
Centre County Graduation 95.4% Per pupil $11,573	92/100	95.4%	$11,573
Cameron County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil $10,775	89/100	95.0%	$10,775
Bucks County Graduation 94.3% Per pupil $12,003	89/100	94.3%	$12,003
Venango County Graduation 94.6% Per pupil $10,157	86/100	94.6%	$10,157
Susquehanna County Graduation 93.2% Per pupil $11,940	86/100	93.2%	$11,940
Crawford County Graduation 94.3% Per pupil $10,125	86/100	94.3%	$10,125
Pike County Graduation 92.5% Per pupil $13,711	85/100	92.5%	$13,711
Union County Graduation 94.1% Per pupil $10,068	85/100	94.1%	$10,068
Somerset County Graduation 94.0% Per pupil $9,757	83/100	94.0%	$9,757
Lawrence County Graduation 93.1% Per pupil $10,416	83/100	93.1%	$10,416
Adams County Graduation 93.3% Per pupil $10,090	83/100	93.3%	$10,090
Washington County Graduation 94.9% Per pupil $9,233	83/100	94.9%	$9,233
Perry County Graduation 93.9% Per pupil $9,558	82/100	93.9%	$9,558
Clinton County Graduation 92.4% Per pupil $11,091	82/100	92.4%	$11,091
Butler County Graduation 93.0% Per pupil $9,825	81/100	93.0%	$9,825
Westmoreland County Graduation 93.4% Per pupil $9,415	80/100	93.4%	$9,415
Jefferson County Graduation 92.9% Per pupil $9,763	80/100	92.9%	$9,763
Bedford County Graduation 93.9% Per pupil $9,027	80/100	93.9%	$9,027
Carbon County Graduation 92.6% Per pupil $9,843	79/100	92.6%	$9,843
Monroe County Graduation 91.3% Per pupil $13,015	78/100	91.3%	$13,015
Cumberland County Graduation 93.2% Per pupil $9,120	78/100	93.2%	$9,120
Indiana County Graduation 91.3% Per pupil $12,183	78/100	91.3%	$12,183
Armstrong County Graduation 91.3% Per pupil $11,556	77/100	91.3%	$11,556
Mercer County Graduation 91.3% Per pupil $11,450	77/100	91.3%	$11,450
Bradford County Graduation 91.2% Per pupil $10,497	75/100	91.2%	$10,497
Elk County Graduation 91.3% Per pupil $10,108	74/100	91.3%	$10,108
Clarion County Graduation 90.5% Per pupil $10,252	72/100	90.5%	$10,252
Juniata County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $8,819	72/100	92.0%	$8,819
Northampton County Graduation 90.5% Per pupil $10,170	71/100	90.5%	$10,170
Clearfield County Graduation 90.5% Per pupil $9,856	70/100	90.5%	$9,856
York County Graduation 90.1% Per pupil $10,003	70/100	90.1%	$10,003
Columbia County Graduation 90.1% Per pupil $9,986	70/100	90.1%	$9,986
Allegheny County Graduation 89.4% Per pupil $11,323	70/100	89.4%	$11,323
Warren County Graduation 90.0% Per pupil $10,028	69/100	90.0%	$10,028
Lackawanna County Graduation 90.6% Per pupil $9,442	69/100	90.6%	$9,442
Montgomery County Graduation 88.5% Per pupil $12,569	69/100	88.5%	$12,569
Delaware County Graduation 89.0% Per pupil $11,250	69/100	89.0%	$11,250
Lycoming County Graduation 90.1% Per pupil $9,561	69/100	90.1%	$9,561
Cambria County Graduation 90.5% Per pupil $9,349	68/100	90.5%	$9,349
Lancaster County Graduation 89.4% Per pupil $10,278	68/100	89.4%	$10,278
Chester County Graduation 89.3% Per pupil $10,204	67/100	89.3%	$10,204
Schuylkill County Graduation 90.8% Per pupil $8,876	67/100	90.8%	$8,876
Potter County Graduation 88.3% Per pupil $10,960	66/100	88.3%	$10,960
Tioga County Graduation 88.8% Per pupil $10,450	66/100	88.8%	$10,450
Greene County Graduation 88.1% Per pupil $10,419	65/100	88.1%	$10,419
McKean County Graduation 89.5% Per pupil $9,376	64/100	89.5%	$9,376
Lehigh County Graduation 88.3% Per pupil $10,005	64/100	88.3%	$10,005
Huntingdon County Graduation 89.6% Per pupil $9,133	64/100	89.6%	$9,133
Mifflin County Graduation 90.0% Per pupil $8,788	63/100	90.0%	$8,788
Fulton County Graduation 87.4% Per pupil $10,447	63/100	87.4%	$10,447
Franklin County Graduation 90.6% Per pupil $8,277	62/100	90.6%	$8,277
Blair County Graduation 89.7% Per pupil $8,754	62/100	89.7%	$8,754
Berks County Graduation 87.3% Per pupil $9,939	61/100	87.3%	$9,939
Forest County Graduation 84.0% Per pupil $14,731	60/100	84.0%	$14,731
Fayette County Graduation 87.6% Per pupil $9,285	59/100	87.6%	$9,285
Lebanon County Graduation 88.2% Per pupil $8,678	58/100	88.2%	$8,678
Snyder County Graduation 85.9% Per pupil $9,723	56/100	85.9%	$9,723
Luzerne County Graduation 86.5% Per pupil $9,272	55/100	86.5%	$9,272
Erie County Graduation 86.1% Per pupil $9,364	55/100	86.1%	$9,364
Northumberland County Graduation 84.9% Per pupil $9,006	51/100	84.9%	$9,006
Beaver County Graduation 71.4% Per pupil $9,547	43/100	71.4%	$9,547
Dauphin County Graduation 76.2% Per pupil $8,874	41/100	76.2%	$8,874
Philadelphia County Graduation 74.8% Per pupil $8,061	34/100	74.8%	$8,061

— = data not available for this county.

Compare county school profiles in Pennsylvania

Use the comparison tool to review school scores, graduation rates, and spending side by side.

Compare Counties

Frequently Asked Questions About Pennsylvania Schools

Which Pennsylvania counties have the highest graduation rates?

Montour County (97.0%), Wyoming County (97.0%), and Wayne County (95.8%) currently lead Pennsylvania among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Pennsylvania?

Across Pennsylvania counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $10,336. The highest current county values are Forest County ($14,731), Wayne County ($14,055), and Pike County ($13,711). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

Which Pennsylvania county has the strongest measured school score?

Wyoming County has the highest school score in Pennsylvania with a score of 96/100, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data.

What is the average graduation rate in Pennsylvania?

The average high school graduation rate across Pennsylvania counties is 90.3%, based on NCES data.

Which county in Pennsylvania has the lowest school score?

Philadelphia County has the lowest school score in Pennsylvania with a score of 34/100. School scores reflect available graduation-rate and per-pupil spending signals.

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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