DATA: Most Greater Houston-area school districts see rise in economically disadvantaged students from 2020-25

Of the 28 school districts across the Greater Houston area, 17 saw an increase in the number of economically disadvantaged students compared to five years ago, according to Texas Education Agency data released April 21.

The overview

Community Impact analyzed data from the TEA to learn how many students were considered economically disadvantaged at public school districts for the 2024-25 school year. In the data sets, the TEA defines economically disadvantaged as students who qualify for free or reduced lunches under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Program, or meet other criteria including:

• The student’s family’s annual income falls at or below the official federal poverty line
• The student qualifies to receive benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977
• The student can receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or other public assistance

By the numbers

According to data for 28 Greater Houston-area school districts, the districts with the highest total for economically disadvantaged students in all categories for 2024-25 are:

• Houston ISD with 137,435 students
• Cy-Fair ISD with 69,352 students
• Aldine ISD with 48,975 students
• Katy ISD with 41,024 students
• Pasadena ISD with 38,080 students

Looking at how the raw numbers for 2024-25 compare to five years ago, 11 districts saw a decrease in economically disadvantaged students while 17 gained economically disadvantaged students.

The districts with the biggest changes for economically disadvantaged student enrollment from 2020-25 are:

• Houston ISD, which lost 17,076 students
• Katy ISD, which gained 12,082 students
• Aldine ISD, which lost 9,008 students
• Cy-Fair ISD, which gained 6,420 students
• Conroe ISD, which gained 6,188 students

Put in perspective

When looking at the number of economically disadvantaged students as a percentage of total enrollment, some different school districts emerged for the largest populations.

The districts with the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the 2024-25 school year are:

• Galena Park ISD with 88.8% of students
• Channelview ISD with 88.7% of students
• Aldine ISD with 86.8% of students
• Alief ISD with 86.3% of students
• Sheldon ISD with 82.3% of students

The districts with the smallest percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the 2024-25 school year are:

• Friendswood ISD with 7.4% of students
• Montgomery ISD with 26.5% of students
• Tomball ISD with 30.1% of students
• Clear Creek ISD with 35.7% of students
• Pearland ISD with 36.8% of students

The districts with the largest changes in economically disadvantaged students over the last five years—from 2020-25—are:

• Channelview ISD with an increase of 42.5 percentage points
• Splendora ISD with a decrease of 23.4 percentage points
• Houston ISD with an increase of 10 percentage points
• Katy ISD with an increase of 8.3 percentage points
• Clear Creek ISD with an increase of 7.8 percentage points