schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Pennsylvania public school districts

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

View county rankingsFind a school

Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in Pennsylvania, 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

Philadelphia City SD

114,779 reported students

Check county context

Wyoming County

96/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Pennsylvania

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.

752 districts in state file

Pennsylvania public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Philadelphia City SD

LEA ID 4218990

Philadelphia County219 schools
114,779
2
Commonwealth Charter Academy CS

LEA ID 4200119

Dauphin County1 school
20,355
3
Pittsburgh SD

LEA ID 4219170

Allegheny County56 schools
19,719
4
Central Bucks SD

LEA ID 4205310

Bucks County23 schools
17,482
5
Reading SD

LEA ID 4220040

Berks County19 schools
17,185
6
Allentown City SD

LEA ID 4202280

Lehigh County21 schools
15,928
7
Downingtown Area SD

LEA ID 4207710

Chester County16 schools
13,201
8
Bethlehem Area SD

LEA ID 4203570

Lehigh County22 schools
12,939
9
North Penn SD

LEA ID 4217280

Montgomery County17 schools
12,859
10
Upper Darby SD

LEA ID 4224320

Delaware County14 schools
12,427
11
Central Dauphin SD

LEA ID 4205400

Dauphin County19 schools
12,393
12
Hazleton Area SD

LEA ID 4211700

Luzerne County11 schools
12,187
13
West Chester Area SD

LEA ID 4225290

Chester County17 schools
12,117
14
Council Rock SD

LEA ID 4206960

Bucks County14 schools
10,460
15
Erie City SD

LEA ID 4209300

Erie County15 schools
10,061
16
Lancaster SD

LEA ID 4213140

Lancaster County19 schools
10,032
17
Cumberland Valley SD

LEA ID 4207110

Cumberland County11 schools
10,003
18
Pennsylvania Cyber CS

LEA ID 4200071

Beaver County1 school
9,838
19
Parkland SD

LEA ID 4218510

Lehigh County12 schools
9,821
20
Pennsbury SD

LEA ID 4218840

Bucks County14 schools
9,591
21
Neshaminy SD

LEA ID 4216410

Bucks County10 schools
9,426
22
Chambersburg Area SD

LEA ID 4205550

Franklin County17 schools
9,274
23
Scranton SD

LEA ID 4221090

Lackawanna County15 schools
9,215
24
Abington SD

LEA ID 4202040

Montgomery County9 schools
8,534
25
Lower Merion SD

LEA ID 4214160

Montgomery County11 schools
8,518
26
North Allegheny SD

LEA ID 4217010

Allegheny County11 schools
8,419
27
Pocono Mountain SD

LEA ID 4219500

Monroe County9 schools
8,012
28
Easton Area SD

LEA ID 4208850

Northampton County9 schools
7,990
29
East Penn SD

LEA ID 4208550

Lehigh County10 schools
7,957
30
Spring-Ford Area SD

LEA ID 4222560

Chester County11 schools
7,920
31
Norristown Area SD

LEA ID 4216980

Montgomery County12 schools
7,785
32
Wilkes-Barre Area SD

LEA ID 4226300

Luzerne County10 schools
7,777
33
West Shore SD

LEA ID 4225830

York County13 schools
7,513
34
Seneca Valley SD

LEA ID 4222440

Butler County8 schools
7,381
35
Altoona Area SD

LEA ID 4202340

Blair County11 schools
7,226
36
Hempfield SD

LEA ID 4211790

Lancaster County10 schools
7,032
37
Reach Cyber CS

LEA ID 4200887

Dauphin County1 school
6,918
38
Tredyffrin-Easttown SD

LEA ID 4223640

Chester County8 schools
6,876
39
State College Area SD

LEA ID 4222770

Centre County11 schools
6,781
40
Haverford Township SD

LEA ID 4211670

Delaware County7 schools
6,622
41
Boyertown Area SD

LEA ID 4203960

Montgomery County9 schools
6,586
42
Pennridge SD

LEA ID 4218750

Bucks County11 schools
6,496
43
East Stroudsburg Area SD

LEA ID 4208670

Monroe County10 schools
6,383
44
Millcreek Township SD

LEA ID 4215330

Erie County9 schools
6,356
45
Wilson SD

LEA ID 4226580

Berks County8 schools
6,352
46
Dallastown Area SD

LEA ID 4207230

York County8 schools
6,337
47
Bensalem Township SD

LEA ID 4203330

Bucks County9 schools
6,323
48
Harrisburg City SD

LEA ID 4211580

Dauphin County12 schools
6,267
49
Souderton Area SD

LEA ID 4221870

Montgomery County9 schools
6,075
50
Bristol Township SD

LEA ID 4204230

Bucks County6 schools
6,050
51
York City SD

LEA ID 4226820

York County9 schools
6,045
52
Butler Area SD

LEA ID 4204590

Butler County9 schools
5,942
53
Manheim Township SD

LEA ID 4214580

Lancaster County9 schools
5,926
54
Central York SD

LEA ID 4205490

York County7 schools
5,571
55
Penn Manor SD

LEA ID 4218630

Lancaster County10 schools
5,532
56
Ridley SD

LEA ID 4220370

Delaware County9 schools
5,506
57
Mt Lebanon SD

LEA ID 4216110

Allegheny County10 schools
5,478
58
Owen J Roberts SD

LEA ID 4218270

Chester County7 schools
5,424
59
Colonial SD

LEA ID 4219470

Montgomery County7 schools
5,387
60
Coatesville Area SD

LEA ID 4206240

Chester County9 schools
5,358

— = 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.

Tunkhannock Area SD

Wyoming County

96

Students
2,112
Schools
4

Lackawanna Trail SD

Wyoming County

96

Students
956
Schools
2

Wayne Highlands SD

Wayne County

95

Students
2,309
Schools
6

Western Wayne SD

Wayne County

95

Students
1,770
Schools
4

Danville Area SD

Montour County

95

Students
2,159
Schools
4

North Central Secure Trmnt Unt

Montour County

95

Students
29
Schools
1

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 Pennsylvania School Districts

What are the best school districts in Pennsylvania?
Philadelphia City SD, Commonwealth Charter Academy CS, Pittsburgh SD are the largest Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 143 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?
This page includes 752 Pennsylvania 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.

Back to Pennsylvania county rankingsBack to all states