US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4

District of Columbia had the highest school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4 of 51 states in 2023, at 79.8%. North Dakota had the lowest, at 27.6%. The median was 43.2% and the figure for the United States was 45.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest79.8District of Columbia

Lowest27.6North Dakota

Median43.251 states

United States45.6History

Map of states, 2023

Under 38
38 to 42
42 to 43
43 to 46
46 to 50
50 and over

%, 2023. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2023 (%)	Change on 2022
1	District of Columbia	79.8	+1.9 pts
2	New Jersey	61.7	+0.4 pts
3	Connecticut	60.1	-0.6 pts
4	Vermont	59	+0.1 pts
5	New York	58.7	+0.6 pts
6	Massachusetts	55.6	-0.9 pts
7	New Hampshire	52.3	-0.5 pts
8	Illinois	51.2	-0.7 pts
9	Mississippi	49.9	+0.3 pts
10	Florida	49.1	-0.4 pts
11	Colorado	49.1	+0.6 pts
12	Louisiana	48.7	-0.7 pts
13	Georgia	47.6	-0.1 pts
14	Rhode Island	46.9	+1.9 pts
15	Hawaii	46.2	-0 pts
16	Maryland	46.1	+0.3 pts
17	Virginia	46.1	+0.3 pts
18	Delaware	45.8	+1 pts
19	Minnesota	44.7	-1.1 pts
20	Kansas	44.6	+0.6 pts
21	California	44.4	-0.3 pts
22	Michigan	44.2	-0.1 pts
23	Pennsylvania	44	-0.2 pts
24	South Carolina	43.9	+0.9 pts
25	Washington	43.3	+0.5 pts
26	Missouri	43.2	-0.4 pts
27	Iowa	43	-0.2 pts
28	Texas	42.9	+1.2 pts
29	Alabama	42.8	-0.3 pts
30	Arkansas	42.8	-0.7 pts
31	Nebraska	42.7	-0.1 pts
31	Utah	42.7	+1.1 pts
33	Ohio	42.6	-0.3 pts
34	Oregon	41.5	-0.2 pts
35	Wyoming	41.4	-0.8 pts
36	Wisconsin	41.3	+0.3 pts
37	Oklahoma	41.3	+0.1 pts
38	North Carolina	40.4	-1.2 pts
39	New Mexico	40.3	-0.5 pts
40	Maine	40.3	-0.8 pts
41	Indiana	40	+0.6 pts
42	Alaska	38.8	+0.7 pts
43	Tennessee	38	-0.6 pts
44	Kentucky	36.6	-2.5 pts
45	Montana	36.3	-2.7 pts
46	Arizona	35.7	+0.5 pts
46	Idaho	35.7	-0.3 pts
48	South Dakota	35.7	-2.4 pts
49	Nevada	32.6	-0.7 pts
50	West Virginia	29.2	0 pts
51	North Dakota	27.6	-2.6 pts

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

Children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school, including nursery school and preschool, at any time in the three months before the interview, as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Reported by households, so it includes private nursery schools. Small counties have only a few dozen children in the sample, and their rates can swing widely between periods.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs (US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs, US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs. US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs, US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_us_states_by_school_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs: US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs: US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preschool-enrollment-ages-3-4/us-states?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b14003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank US states by school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4 using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which state has the highest school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4?

District of Columbia, with 79.8% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest school enrolment, children aged 3 and 4?

North Dakota, with 27.6% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B14003: children aged 3 and 4 enrolled in public or private school as a percentage of all children aged 3 and 4, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-12.