schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Tennessee public school districts

Compare district systems across Tennessee 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 Tennessee, 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

Memphis-Shelby County Schools

109,797 reported students

Check county context

Benton County

68/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Tennessee

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.

148 districts in state file

Tennessee public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Memphis-Shelby County Schools

LEA ID 4700148

Shelby County222 schools
109,797
2
Davidson County

LEA ID 4703180

Davidson County161 schools
80,651
3
Knox County

LEA ID 4702220

Knox County93 schools
60,609
4
Rutherford County

LEA ID 4703690

Rutherford County51 schools
50,707
5
Hamilton County

LEA ID 4701590

Hamilton County81 schools
45,902
6
Williamson County

LEA ID 4704530

Williamson County50 schools
42,171
7
Montgomery County

LEA ID 4703030

Montgomery County43 schools
38,773
8
Sumner County

LEA ID 4704020

Sumner County52 schools
30,732
9
Wilson County

LEA ID 4704550

Wilson County25 schools
20,308
10
Sevier County

LEA ID 4703780

Sevier County32 schools
14,455
11
Maury County

LEA ID 4702760

Maury County23 schools
13,152
12
Madison County

LEA ID 4702580

Madison County26 schools
12,463
13
Putnam County

LEA ID 4703480

Putnam County22 schools
12,032
14
Robertson County

LEA ID 4703600

Robertson County23 schools
11,504
15
Hamblen County

LEA ID 4700001

Hamblen County18 schools
10,289
16
Bradley County

LEA ID 4700330

Bradley County18 schools
10,269
17
Tipton County

LEA ID 4704080

Tipton County14 schools
10,249
18
Blount County

LEA ID 4700300

Blount County22 schools
10,234
19
Murfreesboro

LEA ID 4703150

Rutherford County13 schools
9,408
20
Collierville

LEA ID 4700149

Shelby County10 schools
9,259
21
Bedford County

LEA ID 4700180

Bedford County15 schools
9,047
22
Bartlett

LEA ID 4700153

Shelby County10 schools
8,946
23
Sullivan County

LEA ID 4703990

Sullivan County17 schools
8,380
24
Washington County

LEA ID 4704380

Washington County16 schools
8,281
25
Dickson County

LEA ID 4701020

Dickson County17 schools
8,129
26
Johnson City

LEA ID 4702130

Washington County13 schools
8,001
27
Kingsport

LEA ID 4702190

Sullivan County12 schools
7,784
28
Cumberland County

LEA ID 4700900

Cumberland County12 schools
7,216
29
Lawrence County

LEA ID 4702340

Lawrence County14 schools
7,032
30
Jefferson County

LEA ID 4702100

Jefferson County14 schools
6,995
31
Warren County

LEA ID 4704350

Warren County12 schools
6,477
32
Roane County

LEA ID 4703590

Roane County18 schools
6,344
33
Anderson County

LEA ID 4700090

Anderson County19 schools
6,317
34
Hawkins County

LEA ID 4701740

Hawkins County18 schools
6,304
35
Greene County

LEA ID 4701470

Greene County18 schools
6,265
36
Germantown

LEA ID 4700151

Shelby County7 schools
6,026
37
Achievement School District

LEA ID 4700147

Shelby County16 schools
5,966
38
Union County

LEA ID 4704290

Union County11 schools
5,939
39
Cheatham County

LEA ID 4700570

Cheatham County14 schools
5,833
40
Cleveland

LEA ID 4700690

Bradley County9 schools
5,768
41
Maryville

LEA ID 4702700

Blount County8 schools
5,671
42
Marshall County

LEA ID 4702670

Marshall County10 schools
5,406
43
Campbell County

LEA ID 4700420

Campbell County16 schools
5,294
44
McMinn County

LEA ID 4702820

McMinn County9 schools
5,225
45
Monroe County

LEA ID 4703000

Monroe County13 schools
5,023
46
Franklin County

LEA ID 4701290

Franklin County11 schools
5,004
47
Loudon County

LEA ID 4702520

Loudon County9 schools
4,979
48
Johnson County

LEA ID 4702160

Johnson County8 schools
4,971
49
Oak Ridge

LEA ID 4703240

Anderson County8 schools
4,961
50
Arlington

LEA ID 4700152

Shelby County4 schools
4,803
51
Carter County

LEA ID 4700510

Carter County16 schools
4,764
52
Coffee County

LEA ID 4700780

Coffee County11 schools
4,395
53
Cocke County

LEA ID 4700750

Cocke County12 schools
4,339
54
Macon County

LEA ID 4702550

Macon County8 schools
4,231
55
Lebanon

LEA ID 4702370

Wilson County7 schools
4,221
56
Rhea County

LEA ID 4703510

Rhea County7 schools
4,091
57
Claiborne County

LEA ID 4700630

Claiborne County14 schools
4,070
58
Henderson County

LEA ID 4701800

Henderson County9 schools
4,054
59
Bristol

LEA ID 4700360

Sullivan County9 schools
4,029
60
Lincoln County

LEA ID 4702490

Lincoln County8 schools
4,002

— = 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.

Benton County

Benton County

68

Students
2,163
Schools
8

Perry County

Perry County

68

Students
1,069
Schools
5

Williamson County

Williamson County

66

Students
42,171
Schools
50
Open district guide

Franklin SSD

Williamson County

66

Students
3,190
Schools
8

Dyer County

Dyer County

63

Students
3,645
Schools
8
Open district guide

Dyersburg

Dyer County

63

Students
2,613
Schools
4

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 Tennessee School Districts

What are the best school districts in Tennessee?
Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Davidson County, Knox County are the largest Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 71 Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
This page includes 148 Tennessee 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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