Seattle Schools' Enrollment Numbers as of September 2026
Enrollment numbers are out for Washington State public schools as of September 2026.
Overall, SPS has 47,196 students.
One interesting item in each chart is Male/Female/Non-Binary. I may have missed when that category was added.
From SPS and here are some teased out data.
High Schools
Ballard is at 1681; there's a significant drop off from freshman (452) to seniors (383).
Cleveland STEM is at 889. It's still a weird thing to me that Cleveland has room and yet still has under 1,000 students. They also see a significant drop off from freshman (318) to seniors (138). And, there are many more boys (590) than girls (436).
Franklin is at 902. They have an even spread from grade to grade.
Garfield is at 1224. They have a fairly even spread from grade to grade.
Lincoln is at a whopping 1732 (where do they fit all of them?) Their senior class is at 398 (the largest in the district) and yet the freshman class is at 494. Like Cleveland, they have more boys than girls (170 more boys).
Roosevelt is at 1450. Their freshman class is about 100 students more than their senior class.
Chief Sealth International is at 984. It's a fairly even spread among grades with the lower grades having more than the upper grades.
West Seattle has 1410. I pause to say that West Seattle HS is bigger than Garfield? Oh my. They, too have a larger freshman class, about 70 more than the senior class. They have many more boys than girls by at least 100 students.
Ingraham is at 1078 with a fairly even spread among grades.
Rainier Beach has 751 students. The spread is somewhat even but RBHS has the smallest freshman class of any of the comprehensive high schools at 157. It can hold 1600 students.
Nathan Hale is at 800 students. Boy, that seems small for that building which can hold 1100. The numbers are fairly even across the grades. Hale has nearly 100 more male students than female students.
Interestingly, Ballard High serves the largest number of Special Education students of any comprehensive high school.
Nova is at 172 students with a large (for them) senior class at 59 and the freshman class at 38.
Center School is at just 139 students. But the freshman class is nearly double the senior class so maybe that's a good sign.
Overall, SPS has 47,196 students.
One interesting item in each chart is Male/Female/Non-Binary. I may have missed when that category was added.
From SPS and here are some teased out data.
High Schools
Ballard is at 1681; there's a significant drop off from freshman (452) to seniors (383).
Cleveland STEM is at 889. It's still a weird thing to me that Cleveland has room and yet still has under 1,000 students. They also see a significant drop off from freshman (318) to seniors (138). And, there are many more boys (590) than girls (436).
Franklin is at 902. They have an even spread from grade to grade.
Garfield is at 1224. They have a fairly even spread from grade to grade.
Lincoln is at a whopping 1732 (where do they fit all of them?) Their senior class is at 398 (the largest in the district) and yet the freshman class is at 494. Like Cleveland, they have more boys than girls (170 more boys).
Roosevelt is at 1450. Their freshman class is about 100 students more than their senior class.
Chief Sealth International is at 984. It's a fairly even spread among grades with the lower grades having more than the upper grades.
West Seattle has 1410. I pause to say that West Seattle HS is bigger than Garfield? Oh my. They, too have a larger freshman class, about 70 more than the senior class. They have many more boys than girls by at least 100 students.
Ingraham is at 1078 with a fairly even spread among grades.
Rainier Beach has 751 students. The spread is somewhat even but RBHS has the smallest freshman class of any of the comprehensive high schools at 157. It can hold 1600 students.
Nathan Hale is at 800 students. Boy, that seems small for that building which can hold 1100. The numbers are fairly even across the grades. Hale has nearly 100 more male students than female students.
Interestingly, Ballard High serves the largest number of Special Education students of any comprehensive high school.
Nova is at 172 students with a large (for them) senior class at 59 and the freshman class at 38.
Center School is at just 139 students. But the freshman class is nearly double the senior class so maybe that's a good sign.
Seattle World School is at 109 students with just 10 freshman.
Middle Schools
Among middle schools, Hamilton is the largest with 1082 students, Madison has 1031 students and Eckstein is close behind with 960 students. Mercer is at 924 students, Aki Kurose is at 828, and Robert Eagle Staff is at 814.
In the middle of the pack is Denny International at 687 and Jane Addams at 791.
And shocking to me is that Whitman is at 587 students and behind them is Washington at 513. I should write about the slow but steady spiral down for what was once a thriving Washington. McClure is at 489 students with one of the smallest 6th grade classes, 143.
The smallest is Meany at 421 students.
Background
Probably 15 years ago, the district's Capital Projects division turned its gaze away from middle schools. (SPS was nearly done with all the high schools being renovated.) What happened is that someone decided that they just HAD to close some schools and that was being projected for a much further out time like now.
Middle Schools
Among middle schools, Hamilton is the largest with 1082 students, Madison has 1031 students and Eckstein is close behind with 960 students. Mercer is at 924 students, Aki Kurose is at 828, and Robert Eagle Staff is at 814.
In the middle of the pack is Denny International at 687 and Jane Addams at 791.
And shocking to me is that Whitman is at 587 students and behind them is Washington at 513. I should write about the slow but steady spiral down for what was once a thriving Washington. McClure is at 489 students with one of the smallest 6th grade classes, 143.
The smallest is Meany at 421 students.
Elementaries
If I don't mention one, it's because it is in the middle of the pack.
Probably 15 years ago, the district's Capital Projects division turned its gaze away from middle schools. (SPS was nearly done with all the high schools being renovated.) What happened is that someone decided that they just HAD to close some schools and that was being projected for a much further out time like now.
You build elementary schools that cannot fill on their own so, of course, you have to close other schools.
So they invested a LOT of money for these mega elementaries that hold between 500-650 students. As many of you pointed out, there are small schools near these mega schools and so one or more of them will be on the list.
A good example is North Beach. It's been a consistently good school in a lousy building that got little love from the district. It is likely to make a closure list through no fault of their own.
So keep in mind when the day comes, it may not be about what schools do well academically but who is smaller/close to and will fit in into a big building.
There is no one good way to decide what schools close but SPS signaled their intent a long time ago with this plan. Will good academics matter? Not sure.
Look at Alki Elementary. Their brand new building can hold 542 students and they only have 410.
James Baldwin is at 257 in a brand new building as well. They can fit 650 students.
Ditto Olympic Hills at 385. They can fit 500.
Ditto John Rogers at 260 (but they did pull in 50 kinders). They can fit 500.
We can add Viewlands in this category at 326 students but can hold 650 students.
Bagley was renovated for 500 students; they have 299.
Rogers was renovated for 500 students; they have 260.
Coe was renovated with six new classrooms; they are actually using all their new space at 494 students.
Montlake was renovated for 500 students; they have 203.
Wing Luke was renovated for 500 students, they have 272.
Who is small?
Stevens at just 112. Sanislo at 120. Sand Point at just 128. Rainier View at 155 and just 16 kinders. Sacajawea, 160; Cedar Park, 163; Concord International 208; Decatur at 201; Dunlap 202; Montlake at 203,; John Hay at 211,; Roxhill, 221; Madrona at 218,; Leschi at 233; Laurelhurst 249; Magnolia at 254 with just 35 kinders. SPS just HAD to reopen Magnolia just a few years back.
Who seems to be doing well?
Thurgood Marshall at 539. Hawthorne, too, at 472 with a large K of 81 and a first grade of 98.
And look at Queen Anne Elementary with a population of 186 BUT they have 42 kindergarteners which is huge.
Then there is Cascadia which does not have K or 1st grade with a very good 627 students with 123 coming in at second grade. Thornton Creek has 414 with 104 (!) kinders.
Gatewood Elementary is at 426. Gatzert, too, at 424 with a fairly large K at 69. As well, Greenwood Elementary has a K class of 83 students. Lafayette has a very respectable 452 with 75 K and 87 first graders. McDonald International also has 89 kinders and comes in at 442.
John Stanford is at 448 and nearly 100 students out of that number are kindergarteners (96).
K-8s
Hazel Wolf is doing very well with 679 students and 88 kinders. Salmon Bay is at 618 with 53 kindergarteners. TOPS K-8 is at 493. Blaine has just 486 and 55 kinders while South Shore K-8 has 457 students and 49 kinders. K-8 STEM has 417 students.
ORCA is at just 211 students overall.
Licton Springs has just 34 students with just two kinders.
So they invested a LOT of money for these mega elementaries that hold between 500-650 students. As many of you pointed out, there are small schools near these mega schools and so one or more of them will be on the list.
A good example is North Beach. It's been a consistently good school in a lousy building that got little love from the district. It is likely to make a closure list through no fault of their own.
So keep in mind when the day comes, it may not be about what schools do well academically but who is smaller/close to and will fit in into a big building.
There is no one good way to decide what schools close but SPS signaled their intent a long time ago with this plan. Will good academics matter? Not sure.
Look at Alki Elementary. Their brand new building can hold 542 students and they only have 410.
James Baldwin is at 257 in a brand new building as well. They can fit 650 students.
Ditto Olympic Hills at 385. They can fit 500.
Ditto John Rogers at 260 (but they did pull in 50 kinders). They can fit 500.
We can add Viewlands in this category at 326 students but can hold 650 students.
Bagley was renovated for 500 students; they have 299.
Rogers was renovated for 500 students; they have 260.
Coe was renovated with six new classrooms; they are actually using all their new space at 494 students.
Montlake was renovated for 500 students; they have 203.
Wing Luke was renovated for 500 students, they have 272.
Who is small?
Stevens at just 112. Sanislo at 120. Sand Point at just 128. Rainier View at 155 and just 16 kinders. Sacajawea, 160; Cedar Park, 163; Concord International 208; Decatur at 201; Dunlap 202; Montlake at 203,; John Hay at 211,; Roxhill, 221; Madrona at 218,; Leschi at 233; Laurelhurst 249; Magnolia at 254 with just 35 kinders. SPS just HAD to reopen Magnolia just a few years back.
Who seems to be doing well?
Thurgood Marshall at 539. Hawthorne, too, at 472 with a large K of 81 and a first grade of 98.
And look at Queen Anne Elementary with a population of 186 BUT they have 42 kindergarteners which is huge.
Then there is Cascadia which does not have K or 1st grade with a very good 627 students with 123 coming in at second grade. Thornton Creek has 414 with 104 (!) kinders.
Gatewood Elementary is at 426. Gatzert, too, at 424 with a fairly large K at 69. As well, Greenwood Elementary has a K class of 83 students. Lafayette has a very respectable 452 with 75 K and 87 first graders. McDonald International also has 89 kinders and comes in at 442.
John Stanford is at 448 and nearly 100 students out of that number are kindergarteners (96).
K-8s
Hazel Wolf is doing very well with 679 students and 88 kinders. Salmon Bay is at 618 with 53 kindergarteners. TOPS K-8 is at 493. Blaine has just 486 and 55 kinders while South Shore K-8 has 457 students and 49 kinders. K-8 STEM has 417 students.
ORCA is at just 211 students overall.
Licton Springs has just 34 students with just two kinders.
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