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Figure 75: Changes in Enrollment in New York State School Districts, 1970–2020
From 1970 to 2020, 89% of the 679 school districts in New York shown on this map decreased in student enrollments. This map shows the level of losses (red) and gains (green). Over 73% of the New York school districts experienced a 25% or greater loss of students in this 50 year period.
607 school districts that experienced lower student enrollments 1970 to 2020
57 school districts that experienced higher student enrollments 1970 to 2020
School districts in New York City and other places with incomplete data
Key Findings
From 1970 to 2020, the enrollment at the 679 New York State school districts we analyzed decreased by 818 thousand students, not including New York City. Across New York 89% of school districts in our analysis experienced decreased enrollment in those years. Over 73% of New York school districts experienced a 25% or greater loss of students.
Between 1970 to 2020, school enrollment in New York State, outside of New York City, decreased by 818 thousand students. In 2020, 89% of the 679 school districts in New York State analyzed in this report experienced decreased student enrollment from 1970 to 2020. A total of 89% of New York’s school districts experienced a loss of 25% or greater.
The New York school districts that experienced growth are largely downstate in the lower Hudson Valley and Suffolk County on Long Island. Some small cities in upstate New York gained school children in these years, such as Glens Falls, Saratoga, and the suburbs around Rochester.
Generally, school districts across upstate New York experienced decreased enrollments. Throughout the Adirondack Park all school districts experienced decreases in student enrollment in these years, from a drop of single digits in Keene and Broadalbin-Perth to drops of −76% in Newcomb, −73% in Indian Lake, and −77% in Clifton-Fine. While the enrollment losses in Adirondack school districts are serious and raise questions about the long-term viability of some schools and quality of student education with small peer groups and limited curriculum choices, the declines experienced in the Adirondacks are consistent with school districts across upstate New York. Often school enrollment numbers in the Adirondacks are held up as evidence of negative impacts from environmental controls. While such views are popular, they fail to take into account the long-standing statewide trend of declining enrollments in school districts across upstate New York. ❑