Number of Days in School Year by State

Map

Table

Introduction

The required number of hours that a student receiving K-12 education in the United States varies greatly from state to state. In spite of that variance, the vast majority of states require a minimum of 180 days of school per year. There are also some outliers above and below the attendance of 180 days of school per year. 

For example, Illinois and North Carolina both require their students to attend 185 days of school per year. In Illinois, the increase above the norm in the days of attendance per year is explicitly “designed to ensure 176 days of attendance.” In stark contrast to Illinois, Missouri does not have a minimum amount of school days that a student must attend each year. 

In a similar vein, Colorado only requires 160 days of attendance per year, and Minnesota requires students from grades 1—11 to attend 165 days of school per year. Kentucky requires 170 days of classroom attendance, plus four professional development days. Vermont and Wyoming both require 175 days or classroom attendance per year, and Louisiana requires 177.

Of the remaining states, five of them allow the minimum number of days that a student must attend school to be determined by standards of accreditation, the board of trustees, or the board of education. 

To learn more about the number of days in the school year by state, check the data in the charts. 

#StateAverage Number of School DaysRequired School Days
1Illinois185185
2North Carolina185185
3Florida184180
4New York182180
5Utah182180
6West Virginia182180
7Arizona181180
8California181180
9Connecticut181180
10Delaware181
11District of Columbia181180
12Georgia181180
13Kansas181186
14Mississippi181180
15New Jersey181180
16Pennsylvania181180
17South Carolina181180
18Virginia181180
19Alabama180180
20Alaska180180
21Hawaii180180
22Indiana180180
23Iowa180180
24Kentucky180170
25Maine180180
26Maryland180180
27Massachusetts180180
28Michigan180180
29Nevada180180
30New Hampshire180180
31Ohio180
32Oklahoma180180
33Rhode Island180180
34Tennessee180180
35Texas180
36Washington180180
37Wisconsin180
38Arkansas179
39Montana179
40Louisiana178177
41Nebraska178
42Missouri177
43New Mexico177
44Vermont177175
45Minnesota176165
46North Dakota176
47Wyoming175175
48Idaho173
49South Dakota173
50Oregon172
51Colorado171160

Average Number of School Days by State

Alabama

See less

do_not_disturb_on

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#19

Ranked in the US

#4

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Alaska

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#20

Ranked in the US

#5

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Arizona

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#7

Ranked in the US

#6

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Arkansas

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

179

Ranked in the US

#38

Average Number of School Days

California

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#8

Ranked in the US

#7

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Colorado

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

171

Ranked in the US

#51

Ranked in the US

#38

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Connecticut

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#9

Ranked in the US

#8

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Delaware

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#10

Average Number of School Days

District of Columbia

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#11

Ranked in the US

#9

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Florida

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

184

Ranked in the US

#3

Ranked in the US

#10

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Georgia

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#12

Ranked in the US

#11

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Hawaii

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#21

Ranked in the US

#12

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Idaho

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

173

Ranked in the US

#48

Average Number of School Days

Illinois

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

185

Ranked in the US

#1

Ranked in the US

#2

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Indiana

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#22

Ranked in the US

#13

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Iowa

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#23

Ranked in the US

#14

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Kansas

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#13

Ranked in the US

#1

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Kentucky

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#24

Ranked in the US

#36

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Louisiana

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

178

Ranked in the US

#40

Ranked in the US

#33

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Maine

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#25

Ranked in the US

#15

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Maryland

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#26

Ranked in the US

#16

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Massachusetts

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#27

Ranked in the US

#17

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Michigan

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#28

Ranked in the US

#18

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Minnesota

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

176

Ranked in the US

#45

Ranked in the US

#37

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Mississippi

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#14

Ranked in the US

#19

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Missouri

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

177

Ranked in the US

#42

Average Number of School Days

Montana

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

179

Ranked in the US

#39

Average Number of School Days

Nebraska

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

178

Ranked in the US

#41

Average Number of School Days

Nevada

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#29

Ranked in the US

#20

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

New Hampshire

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#30

Ranked in the US

#21

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

New Jersey

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#15

Ranked in the US

#22

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

New Mexico

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

177

Ranked in the US

#43

Average Number of School Days

New York

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

182

Ranked in the US

#4

Ranked in the US

#23

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

North Carolina

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

185

Ranked in the US

#2

Ranked in the US

#3

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

North Dakota

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

176

Ranked in the US

#46

Average Number of School Days

Ohio

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#31

Average Number of School Days

Oklahoma

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#32

Ranked in the US

#24

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Oregon

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

172

Ranked in the US

#50

Average Number of School Days

Pennsylvania

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#16

Ranked in the US

#25

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Rhode Island

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#33

Ranked in the US

#26

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

South Carolina

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#17

Ranked in the US

#27

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

South Dakota

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

173

Ranked in the US

#49

Average Number of School Days

Tennessee

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#34

Ranked in the US

#28

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Texas

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#35

Average Number of School Days

Utah

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

182

Ranked in the US

#5

Ranked in the US

#29

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Vermont

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

177

Ranked in the US

#44

Ranked in the US

#34

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Virginia

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

181

Ranked in the US

#18

Ranked in the US

#30

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Washington

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#36

Ranked in the US

#31

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

West Virginia

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

182

Ranked in the US

#6

Ranked in the US

#32

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days

Wisconsin

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

180

Ranked in the US

#37

Average Number of School Days

Wyoming

See more

add_circle

Average Number of School Days

help

175

Ranked in the US

#47

Ranked in the US

#35

Average Number of School Days

Required School Days