Students attending religious private schools

These are the religious denominations whose schools have the greatest numbers of students.

In 2015-16, private elementary and secondary schools in the United States enrolled 4,903,596 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics' "Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2015–16 Private School Universe Survey."

Of those, 78.2 percent—3,834,293 students—attended private schools with a religious orientation. By far, the religion affiliated with the most students is Roman Catholicism. Nearly half of those attending a religious private school in the United States in 2015-16 were enrolled in a Catholic school.

Here are the 10 religious denominations whose schools accounted for the most students in 2015-16.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Sign up for our eNewsletters
Get the latest news and updates