Homeschool Statistics: What Federal Data Shows About How Many Families Homeschool and Why
Homeschool statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics: 3.4 percent of K-12 students were homeschooled in 2022-23, up from 2.8 percent in 2018-19, plus the reasons parents give, the difference between homeschooling and virtual school, survey limits and what the numbers mean for families considering it.
Quick answer: According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 3.4 percent of students ages 5 to 17 with a K-12 grade equivalent were homeschooled in the 2022-23 school year, up from 2.8 percent in 2018-19. A broader NCES measure of “instruction at home,” which adds students enrolled full-time in virtual schools, reached 5.2 percent. The most common reason parents cited as important was concern about the environment of other schools (83 percent), and it was also the reason most often named as most important (28 percent).
Homeschooling gets a lot of attention, and with it comes a lot of numbers, some reliable and some not. If you are thinking about homeschooling, or explaining your choice to relatives, it helps to know what the most trusted federal source actually reports.
This article walks through the main federal homeschool statistics, what they measure and what they do not. When you are ready to move from research to planning, our guide on how to start homeschooling covers the practical steps.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), Parent and Family Involvement in Education (PFI) survey, 2023 first-look report (NCES 2024-113) and NCES press release “A Higher Percentage of K-12 Students are Receiving Academic Instruction at Home”; earlier NHES-PFI 2019 results. Percentages are survey estimates with margins of error. This article summarizes published federal data and does not add independent estimates.
Where Federal Homeschool Data Comes From
The NCES, part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, runs the National Household Education Surveys Program. Its Parent and Family Involvement in Education survey asks parents about their children’s schooling, including whether a child is homeschooled. Because homeschooling rules vary widely among states and many states do not require families to register, a national household survey is one of the few consistent ways to estimate homeschooling nationwide.
A few points about the survey:
- It is a sample survey, so results are estimates with margins of error.
- It is run every few years, not annually. Recent editions cover the 2018-19 and 2022-23 school years.
- It counts students ages 5 to 17 with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through 12th grade.
- It defines homeschooled students as those whose parents report they are schooled at home instead of at a public or private school for all or most of their education, with limits on part-time enrollment.
How Many Students Are Homeschooled
| School year | Share of students homeschooled (NCES) |
|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 2.8 percent |
| 2022-23 | 3.4 percent |
The increase from 2.8 percent to 3.4 percent is the headline change. The 2022-23 figure reflects the school year after the most severe pandemic disruptions, so it gives an early look at whether interest in homeschooling held up once schools reopened. According to these data, it did rise compared with before the pandemic.
Homeschooling vs. Virtual School
NCES also reported a broader measure it calls “instruction at home.” It combines homeschooled students with students enrolled full-time in virtual education.
| Measure, 2022-23 | Share of students |
|---|---|
| Homeschooled | 3.4 percent |
| Full-time virtual education (any type) | 2.5 percent |
| Full-time virtual through a public or private school | 1.8 percent |
| Full-time virtual as part of homeschooling | 0.7 percent |
| Total instruction at home | 5.2 percent |
The distinction matters. A child enrolled in a full-time public virtual school is legally a public school student, follows that school’s requirements and is not homeschooled in most states. A homeschooling family that uses online courses is still homeschooling. Our guide to homeschool laws by state explains how to tell which rules apply to you.
Why Parents Choose to Homeschool
The NHES survey asks parents of homeschooled students which reasons were important to their decision and which single reason was most important. For 2022-23, NCES reported the following shares of homeschooled students whose parents said each reason was important:
| Reason | Share citing it as important |
|---|---|
| Concern about the environment of other schools, such as safety, drugs or negative peer pressure | 83 percent |
| Desire to provide moral instruction | 75 percent |
| Emphasis on family life together | 72 percent |
| Dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools | 72 percent |
| Desire to provide religious instruction | 53 percent |
| Desire to provide a nontraditional approach to education | 50 percent |
| Child has special needs | 21 percent |
| Child has a physical or mental health problem | 15 percent |
Parents could choose more than one reason, so the percentages add up to more than 100. When asked to pick the single most important reason, concern about the school environment was named most often, at 28 percent.
What the reasons tell us
Several themes stand out from the data:
- Environment concerns lead. Safety, peer pressure and the overall climate of schools are the most widely cited factors.
- Values matter to many families. Moral and religious instruction are both cited by at least half of homeschooled students’ parents.
- Academics are a major factor. Nearly three in four cited dissatisfaction with academic instruction elsewhere.
- Family life is central. An emphasis on time together ranks alongside academic reasons.
- A meaningful minority are meeting special needs. About one in five cited a child’s special needs, which connects to questions about services and evaluations.
These categories reflect the questions NCES asks. Families’ real reasons are often more complicated than any checklist.
What the Numbers Do Not Tell You
Federal homeschool data has limits worth keeping in mind:
- Margins of error. Small differences between years or groups may not be statistically meaningful.
- Definitions. Families that combine part-time school enrollment with homeschooling may be counted differently depending on how many hours a child attends.
- Self-reporting. The survey relies on parents’ answers.
- Timing. Survey years can capture unusual moments, such as the period right after school closures.
- Outcomes. These surveys describe who homeschools and why. They do not measure academic outcomes.
Be cautious with claims about homeschool test scores or college success that do not name a study and its methods. Research on homeschool outcomes is difficult because there is no national testing requirement, and many studies rely on volunteer samples.
State-Level Homeschool Data
Some states publish counts of homeschool notices or registrations, but methods vary. States that do not require notification have no official count, and states that do require it may count families rather than students. Comparing states using these figures can mislead. For national comparisons, the NCES survey remains the standard reference.
Homeschooling and Education Funding
A growing number of states offer education savings accounts and other programs that some homeschooling families can use, though rules differ greatly and some programs exclude homeschoolers or treat participants as private school students. These programs may influence future homeschool counts. Our overview of state education funding programs for parents explains the main program types.
What These Statistics Mean for Your Family
Numbers can be reassuring. If you are considering homeschooling, you are joining a group that, by federal estimates, includes a few percent of school-age children across the country. You are also in good company if your reasons are a mix of concerns about school environment, academics, values and family time.
The statistics also highlight practical questions:
- Know your state’s rules. Homeschool laws vary widely.
- Plan for socialization. Families use co-ops, classes and activities. Our guide to homeschool co-ops and socialization explains how to find your community.
- Plan your budget. Costs vary by approach and grade. Our article on homeschool costs by grade breaks down typical categories without inflated numbers.
- Plan the transition. If your child is in school now, follow your state’s withdrawal steps.
Homeschooling Is Not One Thing
A single percentage can hide how different homeschooling families are. Some follow a structured curriculum at the kitchen table, others build on a child’s interests, and many mix approaches as children grow. It is common for one child to homeschool while siblings attend school. Families also use online courses, co-op classes, tutors or dual enrollment at a community college for older students. The federal definition captures whether a child is schooled at home for all or most of their education, but it does not describe what that schooling looks like day to day.
That diversity is one reason averages can mislead. A family worried mainly about academics may choose a rigorous classical approach, while a family focused on a child’s health may build a flexible schedule around appointments. Both are counted the same way in the survey.
Talking About the Data With Family and Friends
Relatives and friends may have strong opinions about homeschooling, and sometimes those opinions come with statistics that are out of date or unsourced. The federal figures give you a calm, neutral starting point. You might mention that the National Center for Education Statistics, a nonpartisan federal statistics agency, tracks homeschooling, and that its most recent estimate is 3.4 percent of school-age students. Pointing to the reasons data can also help: most homeschooling parents cite more than one reason, and concerns about school environment, academics, values and family time are all common.
Keep the focus on your own child. Statistics describe groups, while your decision is about one learner and one family.
Students With Special Needs
About one in five homeschooled students in the 2022-23 data had parents who cited the child’s special needs as an important reason. Families in this situation often have additional questions about evaluations, therapies and whether public school services remain available. Rules depend on federal law and on how each state treats homeschooling. Several states also offer scholarships or education savings accounts aimed at students with disabilities; our overview of special needs education scholarships by state lists the main programs.
How to Read Homeschool Statistics You See Online
When you come across a homeschool statistic in an article, video or social media post, ask:
- Who collected the data? Federal surveys, state agencies and university researchers are generally more reliable than unnamed sources.
- When was it collected? Figures from before 2019 may not reflect current trends.
- What exactly was counted? Homeschooled students only, or all students learning at home, including virtual school?
- How was the sample chosen? Nationally representative samples are more trustworthy than volunteer surveys.
- Is a margin of error reported?
Looking Ahead
NCES runs the NHES periodically, so new homeschool estimates appear every few years. Watch the NCES website for the next release, which will show whether the rise seen in 2022-23 continued. In the meantime, treat any claim of an exact current homeschool count with caution unless it names its source.
Questions Families Often Ask Next
Statistics rarely settle the decision on their own. Once families see how many others homeschool and why, they usually move on to practical questions: which curriculum to choose, how to handle subjects the parent finds hard, how to keep records and how to balance teaching with work or younger children. Those questions are covered in depth across our homeschool guides, beginning with the pillar guide linked above. Families with children who have special needs also often look into evaluation and services, since about one in five homeschooled students’ parents in the 2022-23 data cited a child’s special needs as an important reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of students are homeschooled?
NCES estimates that 3.4 percent of students ages 5 to 17 with a K-12 grade equivalent were homeschooled in the 2022-23 school year.
Is homeschooling increasing?
Federal data show an increase from 2.8 percent in 2018-19 to 3.4 percent in 2022-23.
What is the most common reason families homeschool?
Concern about the environment of other schools, cited as important by 83 percent and as most important by 28 percent of homeschooled students’ parents in 2022-23.
Are virtual school students counted as homeschooled?
No. NCES counts full-time virtual students separately. Its broader “instruction at home” measure, which includes both, was 5.2 percent in 2022-23.
Where can I find official homeschool data?
The National Center for Education Statistics publishes homeschooling estimates from its National Household Education Surveys Program on the NCES website.
The Bottom Line
Federal data show that homeschooling grew from 2.8 percent of students in 2018-19 to 3.4 percent in 2022-23, with 5.2 percent learning at home once full-time virtual students are included. Parents most often cite concerns about school environment, along with moral instruction, family life and academics. Use these numbers as context, and focus your planning on your own state’s rules and your child’s needs.
