Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives

New Jersey

2,524 Schools678 Districts1.3M Students
$47,079
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+228% nat'l
33.6%
Free Lunch Rate
-18.6pp vs nat'l
91.9%
Graduation Rate
+5.4pp vs nat'l
49/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate
⇄ Compare New Jersey with another state
About New Jersey Public Schools

New Jersey spends more per pupil than any state in the nation, a product of its Abbott district funding mandate (from the Abbott v. Burke litigation), which requires the state to provide "thorough and efficient" education to students in the state's 31 most disadvantaged urban districts. The result is a striking bimodal distribution: Abbott districts like Newark, Camden, and Trenton receive generous state funding and have shown academic progress, while non-Abbott suburban districts fund themselves primarily through some of the highest property taxes in the country. New Jersey has no statewide school district; instead 600+ separate districts operate with strong local control. The state's NJSLA assessments and National Merit Scholar rates reflect consistently top-tier academic outcomes in affluent suburban communities.

State Snapshot
State BoardNew Jersey State Board of Education
AssessmentNJSLA (New Jersey Student Learning Assessments)
Compulsory Ages6–16
School CalendarSchool year typically begins after Labor Day
Total Enrollment1,343,841
Public Schools2,524
Largest District
Newark Public School District
37K students
Highest Per-Pupil
Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission School Distri
$6,480,917/student
Top Graduation Rate
Millburn Township School District
99.5% grad rate
School Districts (678)
Per-pupil spending in New Jersey ranges from $13,155 to $6,480,917 across districts with available data. State avg: $47,079.
DistrictSchoolsStudentsPer-PupilGrad RateFree LunchOpp.
Large Districts — 10,000+ Students
Newark Public School District6237K$40,780↓13%80.7%↓12%81.5%↑142%32
Elizabeth Public Schools3727K$27,821↓41%83.4%↓9%79.6%↑137%42
Jersey City Public Schools3925K$35,033↓26%75.6%↓18%55.4%↑65%33
Paterson Public School District4123K$35,791↓24%83.7%↓9%64.4%↑91%41
Edison Township School District1917K$22,688↓52%93.7%20.7%↓38%59
Toms River Regional School District1815K$25,622↓46%91.8%31.7%↓6%49
Woodbridge Township School District2514K$26,897↓43%93.5%36.9%↑10%52
Hamilton Township Public School District2312K$23,828↓49%90.9%41.9%↑24%46
Union City School District1412K$30,641↓35%87.0%↓5%84.7%↑152%44
Passaic City School District1711K$36,042↓23%69.0%↓25%99.6%↑196%46
Clifton Public School District1811K$26,838↓43%86.0%↓6%64.4%↑92%49
Cherry Hill School District1911K$25,627↓46%94.2%18.2%↓46%55
Freehold Regional High School District610K$23,070↓51%97.0%↑6%14.1%↓58%46
Perth Amboy Public School District1210K$43,249↓8%83.0%↓10%81.1%↑141%49
Bayonne School District1310K$23,668↓50%87.9%58.6%↑74%50
Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students
Vineland Public School District149,511$27,448↓42%85.0%↓7%0.5%↓99%40
Trenton Public School District179,374$35,577↓24%73.4%↓20%61.1%↑82%41
West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District108,959$29,923↓36%97.0%↑6%5.6%↓83%56
Middletown Township Public School District168,955$25,191↓46%95.0%11.1%↓67%54
New Brunswick School District128,887$31,526↓33%78.0%↓15%81.4%↑142%34
East Orange School District208,653$36,287↓23%82.2%↓11%60.1%↑79%38
Brick Township Public School District128,273$23,691↓50%92.0%34.4%49
Plainfield Public School District138,271$36,038↓23%73.5%↓20%81.4%↑142%36
East Brunswick Township School District118,114$26,987↓43%98.0%↑7%21.6%↓36%58
Old Bridge Township School District148,047$24,722↓47%96.0%20.9%↓38%51
Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District117,981$26,402↓44%95.0%11.3%↓67%51
South Brunswick School District107,898$23,933↓49%96.0%11.9%↓65%44
Wayne Township Public School District157,623$30,215↓36%97.0%↑6%8.2%↓76%62
Township of Union School District107,600$26,126↓45%93.0%26.9%↓20%49
Jackson Township School District107,563$26,669↓43%93.4%28.5%↓15%42
West New York School District97,406$25,835↓45%77.0%↓16%83.3%↑148%48
Piscataway Township School District117,318$24,374↓48%94.0%33.9%56
Egg Harbor Township School District67,312$28,637↓39%93.0%47.0%↑40%41
Hillsborough Township Public School District97,215$25,039↓47%94.0%10.1%↓70%53
North Bergen School District87,206$23,465↓50%81.0%↓12%57.8%↑72%47
Franklin Township Public School District107,123$31,872↓32%90.0%46.5%↑38%49
Washington Township School District117,121$25,875↓45%93.0%18.3%↓46%52
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District147,008$28,240↓40%96.0%13.7%↓59%53
Irvington Public School District126,980$31,305↓34%80.0%↓13%47.9%↑42%37
Monroe Township School District86,900$24,057↓49%95.0%7.7%↓77%—
West Orange Public Schools126,600$34,211↓27%90.0%41.4%↑23%53
South Orange-Maplewood School District116,562$32,140↓32%91.0%12.3%↓64%37
Lenape Regional High School District46,554$29,086↓38%96.1%11.0%↓67%51
Gloucester Township Public Schools116,548$22,881↓51%—41.9%↑25%39
North Star Academy Charter School16,352$20,367↓57%87.0%↓5%83.7%↑149%44
Atlantic City School District116,346$33,770↓28%81.0%↓12%88.5%↑163%30
Livingston Board of Education School District96,320$25,643↓46%97.0%↑6%2.0%↓94%53
Bloomfield Township School District116,264$24,393↓48%90.0%33.5%52
Sayreville School District96,148$25,036↓47%93.0%35.6%↑6%50
Bridgeton City School District86,137$27,104↓42%84.0%↓9%0.2%↓99%34
Showing 50 of 678
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.