States projected to have the highest percentage public school enrollment growth, 2016 to 2028

Federal statistics project that between 2016 2028, enrollment in K-12 public schools will increase by 1.6%.

The estimates of enrollment changes in individual states (and Washington, D.C.) from 2016 to 2028 range from a 22.6% increase in Washington, D.C., to a 12% decrease in Connecticut, according to "Projection of Education Statistics to 2028" from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Nationwide, public K-12 school enrollment is projected to grow to about 51.4 million in 2028, compared with about 50.6 million in 2016.

Here are the states projected to have the highest percentage growth in student enrollment from 2016 to 2028.

State                        Percentage growth

Washington, D.C.          22.6%
North Dakota                 16.1%
Washington                    13.8%
Nevada                            11.4%
Utah                                 11.0%
Florida                             10.8%
South Dakota                 10.8%
Montana                            9.7%
Texas                                  9.3%
Idaho                                   9.1%