Overview
- CPS’ portion of Chicago’s school-age population has dropped more than four percentage points since 2018 to roughly 71%, equating to about 18,000 fewer students than its historic share.
- District enrollment is now about 316,000 after a year-over-year decline of roughly 9,000 this fall, following a temporary uptick from nearly 9,000 recent migrant arrivals that has since plateaued.
- Chicago’s annual live births fell from 45,427 in 2005 to 26,848 in 2023, leaving smaller cohorts advancing through CPS.
- Private school rolls have stayed relatively steady as the child population shrank, and the census “not enrolled” category grew, indicating more families are bypassing CPS.
- Enrollment losses are concentrated on the West and South Sides, leaving more small, underenrolled schools with higher per-student costs and fewer course and extracurricular options.