Head Count: Enrollment over Time across Missouri, KC Metro and STL Metro

By : Deanna C. Childress, Ph.D.

Published On: March 14, 2025

Over the last decade, charter schools in Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas have grown, while traditional public school enrollment has generally declined. However, preliminary data for the 2024-25 school year suggests that some of these trends may be shifting.

What’s Happening with Enrollment Nationally?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES 2023) Common Core of Data (CCD), overall public school enrollment declined by 2.1 percent across the United States (U.S.) between 2017 and 2022 and was projected to decline by an additional 5.5 percent by the fall of 2031. When looking across states, public school enrollment in Missouri is expected to decline by 3.9 percent by the fall of 2031, decline by 7.4 percent in Illinois, and decline by 7.2 percent in Kansas over the same period. These declines in enrollment are often concentrated in urban centers like Kansas City and St. Louis.

What’s Happening with Enrollment across Missouri?

Missouri’s public school enrollment has remained relatively stable since 1991, peaking during the 2002-03 school year with 924,372 pre-k – 12th grade students. Public school enrollment declined slightly, by roughly 1.5% from the peak until before the COVID-19 pandemic-induced enrollment decline. Since the pandemic, enrollment has ticked upward slightly, stabilizing at roughly 890,000 students.

What’s Happening with Charter Enrollment?

Currently, charter enrollment accounts for 6.5% of public school enrollment across Missouri, 24% of public school enrollment in Kansas City and 22% of public school enrollment in St. Louis. Charter school enrollment has increased over the last decade, while traditional public school enrollment has decreased. Despite some charter school closures in both metro areas, the overall charter school enrollment trend continues upward. However, preliminary fall 2024 data shows that charter enrollment growth may be slowing in Kansas City. However, with recent legislation allowing charters to operate in additional areas in Missouri, charter enrollment patterns across the state may look different in the future.

What’s Happening with Enrollment in KC Metro?

The Kansas City metro area saw enrollment growth until 2020, peaking at 357,874 students in 2018, then declining post-pandemic to 347,373 students by 2023-24. In Jackson County, MO (where Kansas City is located), traditional public school enrollment remained steady, increasing slightly by 0.1% from the 2023-24 school year to fall of 2024-25 after a 3.5% decline from 2014-2024. Charter school growth slowed significantly to 0.4% from the 2023-24 school year to the fall of 2024.

What’s Happening with Enrollment in STL Metro?

St. Louis metro area enrollment declined over time, from a peak of 449,719 students in the 1997-98 school year down to 394,056 in 2023-24; this was only 1.1% higher than 1991 enrollment. Though St. Louis City County lost 18.3% of its enrollment over the last decade, Bond County, IL, had the largest rate of decline over this time, losing 20.5% of its public school enrollment. More recently, St. Louis City & County public school enrollment declined by 0.7% from 2023-24 to the fall of 2024-25, while charter school enrollment increased by 2.6% over the same time.

In sum, charter schools represent a significant portion of public school enrollment in Missouri, but their growth hasn't fully offset the decline in traditional public school enrollment. The full report highlights shifting trends in school enrollment, particularly the rise of charter schools amid declines in traditional public school enrollment. These shifts have financial and structural implications for school districts, especially in urban areas like St. Louis and Kansas City.

The text of this blog post was adapted from the full length report “Head Count”, which can be accessed via the button below.

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