schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Texas public school districts

Compare district systems across Texas 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 Texas, 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

HOUSTON ISD

189,934 reported students

Check county context

Kenedy County

95/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Texas

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.

1,214 districts in state file

Texas public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
HOUSTON ISD

LEA ID 4823640

Harris County274 schools
189,934
2
DALLAS ISD

LEA ID 4816230

Dallas County240 schools
141,169
3
CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD

LEA ID 4816110

Harris County91 schools
118,010
4
NORTHSIDE ISD

LEA ID 4833120

Bexar County124 schools
102,719
5
KATY ISD

LEA ID 4825170

Harris County74 schools
92,667
6
FORT BEND ISD

LEA ID 4819650

Fort Bend County85 schools
79,660
7
IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEA ID 4800211

Hidalgo County123 schools
74,217
8
AUSTIN ISD

LEA ID 4808940

Travis County124 schools
73,384
9
FORT WORTH ISD

LEA ID 4819700

Tarrant County140 schools
72,783
10
CONROE ISD

LEA ID 4815000

Montgomery County64 schools
70,783
11
FRISCO ISD

LEA ID 4820010

Collin County75 schools
66,916
12
ALDINE ISD

LEA ID 4807710

Harris County79 schools
60,074
13
NORTH EAST ISD

LEA ID 4832940

Bexar County75 schools
59,007
14
ARLINGTON ISD

LEA ID 4808700

Tarrant County75 schools
56,167
15
KLEIN ISD

LEA ID 4825740

Harris County52 schools
53,712
16
GARLAND ISD

LEA ID 4820340

Dallas County78 schools
52,767
17
EL PASO ISD

LEA ID 4818300

El Paso County76 schools
50,031
18
LEWISVILLE ISD

LEA ID 4827300

Denton County62 schools
49,060
19
PLANO ISD

LEA ID 4835100

Collin County79 schools
48,921
20
HUMBLE ISD

LEA ID 4823910

Harris County50 schools
48,758
21
PASADENA ISD

LEA ID 4834320

Harris County67 schools
48,726
22
SOCORRO ISD

LEA ID 4840710

El Paso County51 schools
47,843
23
ROUND ROCK ISD

LEA ID 4838080

Williamson County60 schools
46,510
24
SAN ANTONIO ISD

LEA ID 4838730

Bexar County98 schools
45,255
25
KILLEEN ISD

LEA ID 4825660

Bell County54 schools
43,935
26
LAMAR CISD

LEA ID 4826580

Fort Bend County45 schools
42,461
27
LEANDER ISD

LEA ID 4827030

Williamson County50 schools
42,415
28
UNITED ISD

LEA ID 4843650

Webb County51 schools
41,381
29
CLEAR CREEK ISD

LEA ID 4814280

Harris County47 schools
40,693
30
ALIEF ISD

LEA ID 4807830

Harris County48 schools
40,329
31
MESQUITE ISD

LEA ID 4830390

Dallas County51 schools
38,356
32
BROWNSVILLE ISD

LEA ID 4811680

Cameron County56 schools
37,898
33
RICHARDSON ISD

LEA ID 4837020

Dallas County55 schools
37,260
34
YSLETA ISD

LEA ID 4846680

El Paso County52 schools
36,183
35
MANSFIELD ISD

LEA ID 4828920

Tarrant County47 schools
35,722
36
SPRING ISD

LEA ID 4841220

Harris County42 schools
34,114
37
KELLER ISD

LEA ID 4825260

Tarrant County41 schools
34,078
38
EDINBURG CISD

LEA ID 4818180

Hidalgo County46 schools
33,911
39
SPRING BRANCH ISD

LEA ID 4841100

Harris County49 schools
33,649
40
CORPUS CHRISTI ISD

LEA ID 4815270

Nueces County57 schools
33,387
41
ECTOR COUNTY ISD

LEA ID 4818000

Ector County46 schools
33,340
42
KIPP TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LEA ID 4800264

Harris County58 schools
33,068
43
DENTON ISD

LEA ID 4816740

Denton County45 schools
32,521
44
IRVING ISD

LEA ID 4824420

Dallas County40 schools
31,767
45
AMARILLO ISD

LEA ID 4808130

Randall County55 schools
30,342
46
PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD

LEA ID 4834860

Hidalgo County43 schools
30,003
47
NORTHWEST ISD

LEA ID 4833180

Tarrant County34 schools
29,248
48
ALVIN ISD

LEA ID 4808090

Brazoria County33 schools
29,188
49
COMAL ISD

LEA ID 4814730

Comal County35 schools
28,511
50
MIDLAND ISD

LEA ID 4830570

Midland County40 schools
27,842
51
GRAND PRAIRIE ISD

LEA ID 4821420

Dallas County39 schools
27,019
52
JUDSON ISD

LEA ID 4824990

Bexar County32 schools
25,871
53
PFLUGERVILLE ISD

LEA ID 4834830

Travis County33 schools
25,445
54
LUBBOCK ISD

LEA ID 4828500

Lubbock County49 schools
25,247
55
PROSPER ISD

LEA ID 4836000

Collin County25 schools
24,983
56
LA JOYA ISD

LEA ID 4826130

Hidalgo County37 schools
24,804
57
CARROLLTON-FARMERS BRANCH ISD

LEA ID 4813050

Denton County40 schools
24,747
58
GOOSE CREEK CISD

LEA ID 4821150

Harris County34 schools
24,431
59
MCKINNEY ISD

LEA ID 4829850

Collin County32 schools
23,342
60
EAGLE MT-SAGINAW ISD

LEA ID 4817700

Tarrant County30 schools
23,196

— = 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.

KENEDY COUNTY WIDE CSD

Kenedy County

95

Students
98
Schools
1

REAGAN COUNTY ISD

Reagan County

90

Students
801
Schools
3

MULESHOE ISD

Bailey County

86

Students
1,347
Schools
4

MCCAMEY ISD

Upton County

86

Students
505
Schools
3

RANKIN ISD

Upton County

86

Students
318
Schools
1

KERMIT ISD

Winkler County

86

Students
1,374
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 Texas School Districts

What are the best school districts in Texas?
HOUSTON ISD, DALLAS ISD, CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD are the largest Texas 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 Texas 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 275 Texas 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 Texas?
This page includes 1,214 Texas 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 Texas county rankingsBack to all states