District profile / Tennessee

Hamilton County

Chattanooga, Tennessee · Public school district · #5 of 122 Tennessee districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

45,981

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$11,137

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 11% above the Tennessee median

Size rank in Tennessee

of 122 districts listed

Hamilton County is a public school district based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving 45,981 students in 82 schools. By enrollment it ranks #5 of the 122 Tennessee districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 97% of them. Its schools average 561 students each, more than the Tennessee median of 467. It spends about $11,137 per student on day-to-day operations, 11% more than the Tennessee median.

How Hamilton County compares

Hamilton CountyTennessee median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$11,137

Tennessee median $10,059 · 11% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$6,663

Tennessee median $6,268 · 6% above · FY2020-21

Students per school561

Tennessee median 467 · 20% above · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$532.7 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 14%State 35%Local 51%

Measure	Hamilton County	Tennessee median	Year
Current spending per student	$11,137	$10,059	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$6,663	$6,268	FY2020-21
Total spending	$516.4 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$532.7 million	n/a	FY2020-21

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Tennessee median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

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Peer districts in Tennessee

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Knox CountyKnoxville	60,185	95	$9,915	n/a	#3
Rutherford CountyMurfreesboro	52,127	55	$9,674	n/a	#4
Hamilton CountyChattanooga · this district	45,981	82	$11,137	n/a	#5
Williamson CountyFranklin	41,593	52	$10,483	n/a	#6
Montgomery CountyClarksville	39,385	44	$9,647	n/a	#7

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Pasadena ISDPasadena, TX	46,491	$11,686	13.0
Marion CountyOcala, FL	46,352	$10,280	18.6
Boston Public SchoolsRoxbury, MA	46,094	$31,397	10.6
WichitaWichita, KS	46,073	$13,586	14.3

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-tn-hamilton-county