National ranking · Top 100 · data updated August 2026

The 100 Cities with Most Schools

This list ranks the top 100 US cities by schools, drawn straight from NCES Common Core of Data. Use the leading value, cutoff, state mix, and full table together to see which places lead this single measure and what it takes to make the list.

Compiled by PlainCities

100
Cities ranked: #1
Houston: 769
Schools

Data updated August 2026

The headline finding

Houston, TX tops this list at 769 schools, making the top 100 requires at least 55.

Houston, TX
#1 · 769: 55
#100 cutoff: 100
cities in this ranking

Every figure here is read live from the same NCES Common Core of Data data rendered in the table below.

These 100 cities span 32 states. Texas has the most entries on this list: 19 (19% of the total). Texas state page.

How we calculate the state breakdown

The state count and leader above are a live tally of this list's own 100 rows, grouped by state. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

Houston, TX

769
Chicago, IL

633
Los Angeles, CA

574
San Antonio, TX

552
Dallas, TX

361
New York, NY

355
Las Vegas, NV

309
Philadelphia, PA

303
Miami, FL

286
San Diego, CA

284
Baltimore, MD

273
Fort Worth, TX

264

What this shows Houston, Texas ranks #1 on schools among the cities in this ranking; the full top 100 is listed below.

Texas (TX)

19
California (CA)

19
Florida (FL)

6
Ohio (OH)

6
North Carolina (NC)

5
New York (NY)

3
Colorado (CO)

3
Wisconsin (WI)

3
Nevada (NV)

2
Pennsylvania (PA)

2

What this shows Texas leads with 19 of the 100 spots on this list.

#	City	Schools	Population
1	HoustonTexas	769	2,300,419
2	ChicagoIllinois	633	2,707,648
3	Los AngelesCalifornia	574	3,857,897
4	San AntonioTexas	552	1,458,954
5	DallasTexas	361	1,299,553
6	New YorkNew York	355	8,516,202
7	Las VegasNevada	309	650,873
8	PhiladelphiaPennsylvania	303	1,582,432
9	MiamiFlorida	286	446,663
10	San DiegoCalifornia	284	1,385,061
11	BaltimoreMaryland	273	577,193
12	Fort WorthTexas	264	941,311
13	AustinTexas	262	967,862
14	WashingtonDistrict of Columbia	240	672,079
15	San JoseCalifornia	234	990,054
16	IndianapolisIndiana	234	882,043
17	ColumbusOhio	234	906,480
18	DenverColorado	232	713,734
19	El PasoTexas	219	678,147
20	OrlandoFlorida	208	311,732
21	MemphisTennessee	206	629,063
22	SacramentoCalifornia	197	524,802
23	JacksonvilleFlorida	197	961,739
24	AlbuquerqueNew Mexico	195	562,488
25	Colorado SpringsColorado	185	483,099
26	MilwaukeeWisconsin	181	569,756
27	FresnoCalifornia	180	543,615
28	CharlotteNorth Carolina	175	886,283
29	CincinnatiOhio	175	309,595
30	TampaFlorida	170	393,389
31	OmahaNebraska	155	488,197
32	ClevelandOhio	154	367,523
33	PortlandOregon	151	642,715
34	BakersfieldCalifornia	146	408,366
35	PittsburghPennsylvania	145	303,620
36	MinneapolisMinnesota	141	426,845
37	AtlantaGeorgia	137	499,287
38	San FranciscoCalifornia	123	836,321
39	StocktonCalifornia	123	320,470
40	OaklandCalifornia	118	438,072
41	RochesterNew York	111	209,720
42	AuroraColorado	105	390,201
43	ArlingtonTexas	104	394,769
44	Baton RougeLouisiana	101	223,699
45	TulsaOklahoma	101	412,322
46	WichitaKansas	99	396,488
47	RaleighNorth Carolina	99	470,763
48	ToledoOhio	99	268,461
49	RichmondVirginia	95	227,595
50	Corpus ChristiTexas	94	317,383
51	TacomaWashington	90	220,482
52	BuffaloNew York	87	276,397
53	KatyTexas	86	23,900
54	DaytonOhio	84	136,741
55	LaredoTexas	84	255,949
56	GreensboroNorth Carolina	83	298,564
57	KnoxvilleTennessee	83	193,721
58	Virginia BeachVirginia	82	457,066
59	AnchorageAlaska	79	289,069
60	San BernardinoCalifornia	79	221,774
61	Santa AnaCalifornia	79	311,639
62	New OrleansLouisiana	79	376,035
63	AmarilloTexas	79	200,945
64	LubbockTexas	79	261,078
65	Long BeachCalifornia	78	458,491
66	ModestoCalifornia	78	218,614
67	RiversideCalifornia	77	316,241
68	SpokaneWashington	77	229,228
69	AkronOhio	76	189,526
70	Fort WayneIndiana	75	266,235
71	ColumbiaSouth Carolina	75	138,019
72	BrownsvilleTexas	73	188,023
73	SpringfieldMassachusetts	71	154,751
74	PlanoTexas	71	287,339
75	AnaheimCalifornia	69	344,553
76	Chula VistaCalifornia	68	275,030
77	DurhamNorth Carolina	68	288,465
78	FayettevilleNorth Carolina	68	209,692
79	GarlandTexas	68	245,298
80	FriscoTexas	67	210,238
81	LincolnNebraska	66	291,932
82	Des MoinesIowa	64	212,464
83	Santa RosaCalifornia	63	177,216
84	SalinasCalifornia	62	161,993
85	SpringfieldMissouri	61	169,432
86	ProvidenceRhode Island	61	190,214
87	WacoTexas	61	141,925
88	LakelandFlorida	60	117,030
89	MariettaGeorgia	60	61,773
90	Green BayWisconsin	60	106,585
91	BirminghamAlabama	59	199,322
92	Grand PrairieTexas	59	198,564
93	IrvingTexas	59	255,036
94	PensacolaFlorida	58	54,011
95	Kansas CityKansas	58	154,776
96	SalemOregon	58	176,666
97	FontanaCalifornia	57	211,921
98	MadisonWisconsin	57	275,568
99	HendersonNevada	56	324,523
100	MobileAlabama	55	185,097

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023 vintage, released December 2024), the underlying dataset behind this ranking spans 28,702 U.S. incorporated places and census-designated places nationally; this page shows the top 100 by schools. See our methodology for the full data-collection process.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Verify directly with the source agency: U.S. Census Bureau, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES.

Questions about the cities with most schools list

What does this cities with most schools ranking measure?

It orders cities by schools using NCES Common Core of Data. It is a single-metric comparison, not an overall score for quality of life or a recommendation about where to live.

Are metropolitan areas included?

The rows are individual cities or Census-defined places covered by the named source, not combined metropolitan areas. The page states any extra coverage or population rule that applies to this specific schools ranking.

Can I download and verify the ranking?

Yes. The CSV above contains the same ranked rows shown in the table. The page names the source and vintage, links to the source agency, and explains category-specific caveats before the data.

What to do with the cities with most schools list

Use this ranking to narrow the field, then dig into the specific places you're considering.

Houston, TX leads this list at 769 -- see its full profile before drawing conclusions from the rank alone. Houston profile
Put two specific cities side by side across every tracked metric, not just this one ranking. Compare cities
See every ranked city in Texas together, not just how Houston compares nationally. Texas state page

This ranking reflects the single schools metric only -- it is not a composite of everything that makes a city a good fit.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Browse all city profiles → | Explore city rankings →

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

The 100 Cities with Most Schools

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Which states show up most

Questions about the cities with most schools list

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