Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives

Michigan

3,491 Schools886 Districts1.4M Students
$37,188
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+159% nat'l
58.4%
Free Lunch Rate
+6.2pp vs nat'l
81.4%
Graduation Rate
-5.1pp vs nat'l
42/100
Opportunity Score
Limited
⇄ Compare Michigan with another state
About Michigan Public Schools

Michigan has one of the most decentralized and choice-saturated education systems in the country, with minimal authorizer oversight for charter schools — a feature that has produced both innovative schools and a troubling number of low-performing operators. The 1994 Proposal A fundamentally shifted school funding from local property taxes to a per-pupil foundation allowance funded largely by state sources, but the formula has failed to keep pace with inflation, eroding real per-pupil spending over time. Detroit Public Schools Community District has undergone bankruptcy, emergency management, and successive reforms; it now shows modest academic progress while still serving a heavily low-income, predominantly Black student body. Michigan uses the M-STEP and the SAT (grade 11) for accountability, and the state has launched ambitious literacy and attendance intervention programs in recent years.

State Snapshot
State BoardMichigan State Board of Education
AssessmentM-STEP / SAT (grade 11)
Compulsory Ages6–18
School CalendarSchool year typically begins after Labor Day per state law (with exceptions)
Total Enrollment1,384,951
Public Schools3,491
Largest District
Detroit Public Schools Community District
48K students
Highest Per-Pupil
Marquette-Alger RESA
$1,206,958/student
Top Graduation Rate
DeWitt Public Schools
99.5% grad rate
School Districts (886)
Per-pupil spending in Michigan ranges from $7,372 to $1,206,958 across districts with available data. State avg: $37,188.
DistrictSchoolsStudentsPer-PupilGrad RateFree LunchOpp.
Large Districts — 10,000+ Students
Detroit Public Schools Community District10748K$22,389↓40%81.6%84.4%↑45%32
Utica Community Schools3826K$13,893↓63%95.0%↑17%44.6%↓24%48
Dearborn City School District3620K$17,667↓52%93.5%↑15%76.2%↑31%43
Ann Arbor Public Schools3217K$22,929↓38%90.5%↑11%26.6%↓54%47
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools2516K$16,560↓55%92.5%↑14%22.8%↓61%55
Chippewa Valley Schools2015K$14,875↓60%94.4%↑16%37.7%↓35%49
Rochester Community School District2215K$15,134↓59%98.6%↑21%15.3%↓74%47
Grand Rapids Public Schools5114K$19,814↓47%85.2%77.7%↑33%44
Livonia Public Schools School District2613K$17,859↓52%93.9%↑15%35.9%↓39%48
Warren Consolidated Schools2312K$17,661↓53%90.8%↑12%73.2%↑25%43
Kalamazoo Public Schools3112K$17,425↓53%79.5%69.9%↑20%39
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools2012K$21,783↓41%95.9%↑18%30.9%↓47%56
Troy School District2112K$17,527↓53%94.3%↑16%16.9%↓71%52
Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students
Lansing Public School District289,896$20,286↓45%77.2%↓5%89.6%↑53%34
Wayne-Westland Community School District169,334$21,733↓42%81.0%65.9%↑13%36
L'Anse Creuse Public Schools199,289$14,410↓61%92.7%↑14%43.9%↓25%35
Kentwood Public Schools169,260$16,930↓54%80.6%71.8%↑23%38
Forest Hills Public Schools189,156$16,634↓55%96.7%↑19%14.6%↓75%44
Farmington Public School District168,895$19,585↓47%94.1%↑16%30.9%↓47%47
Traverse City Area Public Schools168,689$16,930↓54%94.0%↑16%37.9%↓35%52
Portage Public Schools148,591$14,458↓61%95.3%↑17%28.0%↓52%47
South Lyon Community Schools138,316$14,642↓61%91.9%↑13%18.4%↓68%46
Grand Blanc Community Schools137,772$16,619↓55%91.0%↑12%43.9%↓25%46
Rockford Public Schools147,654$15,605↓58%96.1%↑18%16.4%↓72%46
Huron Valley Schools177,614$20,468↓45%93.2%↑14%32.5%↓44%41
Clarkston Community School District137,552$16,369↓56%93.4%↑15%21.8%↓63%38
Midland Public Schools137,436$15,198↓59%90.5%↑11%35.2%↓40%37
Port Huron Area School District177,206$14,499↓61%85.9%↑6%62.6%↑7%35
Birmingham Public Schools137,112$26,500↓29%97.0%↑19%9.6%↓84%49
Northville Public Schools107,095$19,100↓49%95.7%↑18%7.8%↓87%51
Waterford School District176,948$19,708↓47%86.7%↑7%61.0%43
Howell Public Schools106,868$14,536↓61%93.2%↑15%30.9%↓47%47
Hudsonville Public School District136,752$20,239↓46%96.0%↑18%15.7%↓73%56
Lake Orion Community Schools136,731$19,928↓46%96.6%↑19%26.3%↓55%45
Novi Community School District106,603$21,130↓43%95.5%↑17%11.8%↓80%—
West Ottawa Public School District136,558$20,164↓46%91.5%↑12%55.2%↓5%39
Grosse Pointe Public Schools126,421$23,826↓36%94.5%↑16%21.3%↓63%55
Bay City School District136,385$15,225↓59%88.8%↑9%58.1%43
Zeeland Public Schools125,995$16,393↓56%95.9%↑18%27.6%↓53%—
Brighton Area Schools95,800$21,184↓43%96.1%↑18%14.7%↓75%44
Oxford Community Schools105,625$17,734↓52%77.5%28.0%↓52%38
Davison Community Schools95,566$15,359↓59%92.1%↑13%50.9%↓13%43
Grandville Public Schools105,494$19,061↓49%96.0%↑18%35.3%↓40%48
Taylor School District135,385$16,762↓55%71.8%↓12%76.9%↑32%39
Grand Haven Area Public Schools135,378$15,480↓58%86.7%↑7%32.4%↓44%39
Anchor Bay School District115,347$13,993↓62%96.0%↑18%30.0%↓49%45
Woodhaven-Brownstown School District105,294$17,738↓52%92.0%↑13%49.6%↓15%43
Saginaw School District of the City of165,178$19,886↓47%90.8%↑12%86.5%↑48%34
Jenison Public Schools115,176$19,372↓48%94.1%↑16%28.2%↓52%53
Hartland Consolidated Schools95,162$14,607↓61%96.6%↑19%19.1%↓67%47
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Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.