These Are the 10 Largest School Districts in Massachusetts

Schools are back in session in just a few weeks, and in Massachusetts that means hundreds of thousands of students returning to the classroom.

Here in the Bay State, there are nearly 400 public school districts serving over 900,000 K-12 students. Though those thousands of students are spread across the state, some districts have much higher enrollment than others.

We're showing you which Massachusetts school districts are the largest and just how many students that really means.

What Makes a Large School District Different?

When it comes to school districts, smaller doesn't necessarily mean better—or worse. Though many parents seek smaller class sizes, more one-on-one time with teachers and a close-knit community, large school districts have their benefits too.

The Benefits of a Larger School District

More students can mean larger budgets, more up-to-date technology, more extracurricular options, expanded AP and language offerings, more competitive sports teams and more specialized support staff such as special education teachers, counselors and ESL staff.

Of course when we're talking about large school districts, "large" can mean very different things depending on where you live.

READ MORE: These Massachusetts Cities Are Among 'Best Run' in the U.S.

A district with a few thousand students might feel enormous in a small community, while some of Massachusetts' biggest school districts have tens of thousands of students walking through their doors each year.

So which districts have the most students?

How We Ranked Massachusetts School Districts

We used enrollment numbers from the Massachusetts Department of Education numbers to compare districts across the Bay State from the 2025—2026 school year and put together a list of the 10 largest school districts in Massachusetts.

READ MORE: These Are Some of Massachusetts' Best School Districts

Once you see how many students some of these districts are responsible for, you just might look at your school system a little differently.