Enrollment in 2023-24 School Year: 184,109 students welcomed in Houston Independent School District

There were 184,109 students enrolled in Houston Independent School District during the 2023-24 school year, 3.1% less than the previous year’s 189,934 students welcomed, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Among the student body, 50.6% were boys and 49.4% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were Hispanic (113,651), representing 61.7% of the district’s total enrollment. Black students followed with the second-largest group, totaling 39,247 students (21.3%).

The grade level with the highest enrollment was ninth grade, with 15,751 students enrolled that year, accounting for 8.6% of the total student body.

The district covers 274 schools, and has a central office in Houston.

A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state’s school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.

“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.