The most encouraging trend lines for Catholic schools in America continue to be in Florida, where enrollment grew another 2.3% this year, according to fresh national data.
Over the past decade, Catholic school enrollment is down 13.2% nationally, but up 12.1% in Florida.
That tidbit and more can be found in our new Catholic schools update brief, which is primarily based on new enrollment figures from the National Catholic Educational Association and Florida Catholic Conference.
The brief is a follow-up to our widely circulated 2023 special report, “Why Catholic Schools In Florida Are Growing: 5 Things To Know.” We issued an update in April 2024 because last year’s numbers continued to show strong growth, and that’s the rationale for this update, too.
Florida, though, may see competition in the comeback department soon. Across America, there are more glimmers of hope for Catholic schools.
Catholic school enrollment nationally held relatively steady again this year, for a third straight year since rebounding from COVID-19. Meanwhile, even more states, including Texas, have adopted the kind of expansive private school choice programs that helped fuel Florida’s growth.
Our update brief includes a table showing a decade’s worth of Catholic school enrollment, year-by-year and state-by-state, for all 50 states.
We look forward to seeing the next states gain traction.
