School enrollment in Central Texas: How have the numbers changed in recent years?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 430,000 students are enrolled in school districts and open charters across the KXAN viewing area.
KXAN is keeping track of enrollment data from the Texas Education Agency in 58 school districts and more than 20 open charter schools across the area.
Over the past decade, the number of students enrolled areawide in traditional school districts increased by 34,482 between the 2013-14 and 2023-24 school years. Charter school enrollment increased by 42,785 during the same timeframe.
As of 2023-24, more than 375,000 students are enrolled in districts, while almost 56,000 are enrolled in charter schools.
The changes are not uniform in each district. While enrollment areawide grew by 10.1%, several districts grew at a much faster pace. The number of students at Jarrell ISD more than tripled over the past decade, while Liberty Hill ISD and Coupland ISD both more than doubled their student populations.
Meanwhile, 18 districts saw enrollment figures fall over the past decade, including Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD, Eanes ISD and Round Rock ISD.
The map below shows how enrollment has changed in each local district over the past decade. Hover over or click on a district to see enrollment numbers for that district. You can also search for a specific district using the search function in the top left of the map.
Austin ISD is the largest district in the KXAN viewing area, by far, accounting for about one in five school district students in the area.
TEA data shows there were 72,830 students in the district in the 2023-24 school year, down from 85,372 in 2013-14, a 14.7% decrease.
As of 2023-24, Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, Pflugerville ISD and Hays CISD round out the top five largest districts. KIPP Texas Public Schools is the largest charter system, with more than 34,000 students areawide.
The chart below shows enrollment changes in every school district and open charter school in the area. Use the dropdown menu at the top to select a school or district.
Several districts have experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, especially in suburban areas surrounding Austin.
Of districts with more than 1,000 students, Jarrell ISD has grown the fastest, up more than 225% over the past 10 years. The district grew from 1,140 students in 2013-14 to 3,713 students in 2023-24.
Liberty Hill ISD has also rapidly grown, up more than 196%. While much smaller overall, Coupland ISD is the only other district to grow by more than 100% over the past decade. The district grew by just over 180%.
Hutto ISD had the third-fastest growth over the past decade among districts with more than 1,000 students, increasing enrollment figures by 69%. Dripping Springs ISD grew by 67%, while Lake Travis ISD and Elgin ISD both grew by 36.5% over the decade.
