Fewer middle-class students now attend private schools

Catholic education has grown smaller in the 21st Century

Declining numbers of priests and nuns, who often worked in the schools for free, led schools to increase tuition, which inadvertently turned away the schools’ primary demographic: working-class immigrant families. At the same time, the sexual abuse scandals of the early 2000s left many others feeling like Catholic schools were dangerous.

In recent years, many private schools have seen enrollment increase

The pandemic realigned schools’ demographics, with steady enrollment increases reported since 2020. In school years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 20225, 40% of private schools saw enrollments increase, though the overall trend appears to be slowing.

Private school demographics in the US

Private school is a costly alternative to public school. As a result, there are numerous demographic differences between public and private school attendees, typically tied to income level. This source presents the latest statistics about private school attendance, as well as a searchable database to see the differences for schools near you.

Economists warn that private schools can negatively affect public schools

Lower public school enrollment often means less public school funding. Private school parents, however, frequently argue that public schools simply aren’t offering the right education for their children. This podcast episode investigates that back-and-forth in San Francisco, where 30% of children attend private schools, nearly three times the national figure.

Private schools are generally smaller than public schools

As of 2021, 44% of private schools enrolled fewer than 300 students. By comparison, over 60% of public schools enroll more than 500 students.

Private K-12 schools rely on tuition; colleges rely on funding for research

Tuition, endowments, donors, and grants often fund private schools, allowing them to eschew national curriculum standards. Private colleges and universities also charge tuition, but often rely on federal funding for research.

Private schools don’t inherently boost student performance

High test scores in private schools often reflect affluent, selective student bodies—not superior instruction. Studies show that private school advantages stem largely from socioeconomic factors and admission policies, not institutional quality.

Some educators argue society's obsession with colleges at the top of rankings has hurt the US higher education ecosystem

Why are "good colleges" often the ones that accept the fewest students? Speaker Cecilia Orphan argues that society's obsession with colleges that are often private, expensive, and that reject applicants with high frequency has done harm. Instead, she argues, we should focus on regional public universities that meet the needs of students in a cost-achievable manner.

College tuition has climbed 600% in 40 years

The cost of attending college has outpaced inflation in the US. Tuition has climbed more than 600% in the past 40 years; more than three times the inflation rate. Many students have racked up student loans to cover rising college costs, while others have chosen not to attend college altogether.

Private education offered an alternative for Black Americans

The early public school system was ostensibly designed for all Americans, but it was also racially segregated, offering substandard schools for Black Americans. Some private schools were founded to combat that problem, including St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, the United States' oldest predominantly Black Catholic high school.

US school distrists have greatly consolidated since 1940

Consolidation significantly decreased the number of independent school districts from approximately 117,000 in 1940 to just over 13,000 today, mainly driven by efforts to boost efficiency and balance funding across communities.

15 states offer school voucher programs, serving nearly 350,000 students

Voucher programs direct public K–12 funding to families in the form of tuition grants for private schools and are typically targeted to low-income or special-needs students.

Driver education was largely removed from public schools in the 1990s

Maintaining fleets of cars proved too expensive for many school districts, relegating driver education to private classes taken outside of school.

Find out ways to get lower rates on private loans, such as applying with a cosigner

More borrowers are being pushed to opt for private student loans as changes to federal borrowing caps and repayment plans are implemented. Private lenders typically advertise interest rates that fall anywhere between sub-3% and 15% or higher.

Marriage rates are declining, especially in the richest countries

89% of the world’s population now live in countries with falling rates. Increasing costs of living, the financial burden of starting a family, and the rise of secularism are some of the key factors reducing marriage rates among the less affluent.

Disney World tickets cost 56% more now than in 2014

The prototypical middle-class American family vacation has been a staple for decades. But in the last 10 years, the cost—over $5K for a 5-night stay for a family of four—has placed the trip out of reach for many.

Family offices have been increasing their allocations to private credit

Private firms that manage family fortunes have been investing more in alternatives like venture capital and real estate, impacting the wider financial world.

The household income considered 'middle class' has increased significantly in the past 10 years

However, the increase has been larger in some states than others. In Texas, for instance, 2023's middle-class annual incomes ranged from $50,861 to $152,584, whereas 2013 middle-class annual incomes ranged from $34.6K to $103.8K.

In 1976, segregation was outlawed in private schools

Over two decades after Brown v. Board of Education, Runyon v. McCrary banned the segregation academies, forcing them to admit non-white students or shut down.

Montessori is an educational style that's grown popular in private education

Montessori, which was developed in Italy and became popular in the US in the 1950s, emphasizes child-centered learning. Though it’s often associated with younger students, the Montessori philosophy can also be found in middle schools and high schools.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

King's books are now taught by college professors

Stephen King’s horror, fantasy, and science fiction were once considered lowbrow and unworthy of serious academic study. That's changed over the last 50 years, with King courses and symposiums taking place at universities around the world.

Part of the reason why American teachers aren't paid well has to do with gender

In the US, the wage gap between teachers and others with the same level of education and experience was nearly 20% as of 2021, per CNBC. That's partly because teaching was originally branded as a woman's profession.

Worth more than $14T, Silicon Valley may be getting too expensive for future founders

Silicon Valley, the 1,800-square-mile hub of tech innovation, reached more than $14T in market value in 2024. Home to industry giants like Apple and Adobe, its influence is undeniable. But rising costs and corporate relocations raise questions about its future.

Why there's a snack recession

Inflation and economic uncertainty have driven many Americans to make cuts to their snack budgets, according to reports from major food manufacturers like General Mills, JM Smucker, and Campbell's. Major retailers have also observed lower-income consumers cutting back on nonessentials due to the macroeconomic environment.

NFL stadiums are designed to maximize profit, not number of seats

Most stadiums are actually getting smaller as the cost of land rises. Owners have sought to increase returns by designing prestige suits and clubs (rather than just more general admission) and laying out the stadium to maximize customer purchases.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.