Over on ICHER’s main page you can find the just updated data maintained by various state departments of education. Let me be quick to repeat what I’ve said for years, that the numbers reported here are unreliable for at least these reasons:
- Data collection is haphazard, varying widely by state, by district within a state, and from year-to-year based upon state budgets, which do not prioritize homeschooling data collection.
- The figures provided by some states don’t account for homeschoolers who may choose to do so by, say, registering as private schools.
- Some homeschoolers simply refuse to register with the state and hence are not included in these tallies.
Despite such caveats, I am pleased to report that the data we present this time is by far the most complete we have ever assembled. My dedicated and capable workstudy student Emily Watson really beat the bushes this time, persistently tracking down state information we had previously not been able to acquire. Below is a list of all the new editions to our data since it was posted last time over a year ago. Is there a trend? There most certainly is. With only two exceptions (Wisconsin and Louisiana) for every state we have data the trend lines are up. Some years ago I and others suggested that, given slowing growth rates, homeschooling might be reaching a plateau in popularity. The most recent NCES data seemed to confirm that assessment. Well, this data suggests otherwise. According to these numbers, homeschooling continues to grow almost everywhere. It is growing in the deep south. It is growing in the northwest. It is growing New England. It is growing in the heartland. This data cannot be trusted to give us a number or a rate of growth, but the trend line is unmistakable. Consult our website for the full data. Here are the updates:
State Homeschooling Update
Arkansas: 2018- 20,331
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Colorado: 2017- 7,387 & 2018-9,284
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
Delaware: 2018- 3,026
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Florida:
2018- 89,817
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Georgia: 2018- 61,340 and 2019- 74,066
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
Hawaii: 18-19: 3240; 17-18: 2706; 16-17: 3045;15-16: 2859;14-15: 3384
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
Louisiana: 2018- 13,708 2019- 13,672
Direction of Change: Down, modestly
Maine: 2018- 5,749
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Maryland: 2017- 26,040 & 2018- 27,561
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Massachusetts: 2017- 7,414 & 2018- 7,624
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Minnesota: 2017- 18,988
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
Montana: 2018- 5743
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
New Mexico: 2019- 7,858
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
North Carolina: 2017-135,749 & 2018- 142,037
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
North Dakota:
| Year | Home School Students |
| 2018-2019 | 3456 |
| 2017-2018 | 3078 |
| 2016-2017 | 3067 |
| 2015-2016 | 2858 |
| 2014-2015 | 2764 |
| 2013-2014 | 2359 |
| 2012-2013 | 2048 |
| 2011-2012 | 1891 |
| 2010-2011 | 1683 |
| 2009-2010 | 1494 |
| 2008-2009 | 1543 |
| 2007-2008 | 1478 |
| 2006-2007 | No Data Available |
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Ohio: 2017- 30,461
Direction of Change: Up, significantly
Pennsylvania: 2015-22,363 2016- 23,894 2017- 24,146 2018- 24,658
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Rhode Island
2004- 901; 2005-852; 2006-811; 2007-981; 2008-983; 2009-1,134; 2010-1,270; 2011-1,273; 2012-1,240; 2013-1,513; 2014-1,527; 2016-1,550; 2017-1,648; 2018-1,764
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Vermont: 2017 = 2233; 2018 = 2344; 2019 = 2571
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Virginia: 2017- 36,897 & 2018- 36,984
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Washington: 2018- 21,916
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
West Virginia: 2015- 10,069; 2016- 11,075; 2017- 11,196; 2018- 11,699
Direction of Change: Up, modestly
Wisconsin: 2017- 21,633 & 2018- 21,577
Direction of Change: Down, modestly