Enrollment
One in Three Missouri Districts at Lowest Enrollment Ever
174 of Missouri's 554 school districts hit all-time low enrollment in 2026, spanning rural towns, inner-ring suburbs, and urban cores alike.
Missouri
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Missouri, grounded in Missouri Department of Education data.
Nearly Four in Ten Missouri Districts Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates
179 of Missouri's 455 districts posted their highest-ever graduation rate in 2025, including 13 that hit 100 percent with meaningful cohort sizes.
A Law Turned Three Rural Districts Into Virtual Giants
After Missouri removed enrollment barriers in 2022, three small districts hosting virtual academies grew by up to 559%, reshaping the state's enrollment map.
St. Louis City: Stuck at 70 Percent While the Rest of Missouri Soars
Missouri's graduation rate hit an all-time high, but St. Louis City remains trapped at 70 percent with a collapsing Hispanic rate and a shrinking cohort.
Two Cities, Two Trajectories: Kansas City Surges Past St. Louis
Kansas City 33 and St. Louis City were within 2 points of each other in 2019. By 2025, an 18-point chasm had opened between Missouri's two largest urban districts.
More Coverage
District Spotlight
Springfield's Six-Year Streak: From 87 Percent to a Record 99 Percent
Springfield R-XII improved its graduation rate every year since 2019, reaching 98.9 percent with a 2,017-student cohort. It now leads all large Missouri districts.
District Spotlight
Normandy Lost More Than Half Its Students. The State Gave It Back.
Normandy Schools Collaborative fell from 5,585 to 2,589 students over 25 years, a 53.6% decline driven by accreditation loss and state takeover.
District Spotlight
Kansas City Schools Lost 60% of Its Students. Then It Started Growing.
After losing 60% of its students, Kansas City Public Schools has posted three years of growth, fueled by immigrant families.
Graduation
Missouri Hits an All-Time High: 92.7 Percent of Students Graduate on Time
Missouri's four-year graduation rate reached 92.7 percent in 2025, the highest on record, with a growing cohort that produced nearly 4,000 more graduates than in 2019.
Demographics
The St. Louis Enrollment Donut: Inner Ring Empties, Outer Ring Fills
Six of nine inner-ring St. Louis suburbs hit all-time enrollment lows while outer-ring districts surged, a textbook enrollment donut reshaping the metro.
District Spotlight
Kansas City's 19-Point Graduation Miracle: From Crisis to Nearly 90 Percent
Kansas City 33's graduation rate climbed from 69.4 percent in 2019 to 88.2 percent in 2025, a turnaround driven by even larger gains among Black students.
Covid Impact
Missouri Lost 20,068 Students in a Single Year
While other states saw enrollment crater during COVID, Missouri held steady. Then 2022 hit, and nearly three-quarters of its districts lost students at once.
District Spotlight
St. Louis City Schools: 68 Buildings, 16,211 Students
St. Louis Public Schools enrolled 43,420 students in 2001. By 2026, just 16,211 remain, a 62.7% collapse that now threatens the district's accreditation and half its buildings.
Enrollment
Missouri Public Schools Just Hit Their Lowest Enrollment in at Least 25 Years
Missouri's 855,081 public school students in 2025-26 marks a 25-year low, with losses accelerating from 220 students per year in the 2000s to nearly 3,900 per year since 2019.
Enrollment
Missouri Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
DESE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 855,081 students, a 25-year low that extends an accelerating decline.