Private vs. Public School? NJ Spotlight Map Pinpoints Numbers

Private vs. public school? With an average tuition of about $20,000, that's the million dollar question for parents considering the extra cost. What’s been their answer? A new interactive map created by NJ Spotlight shows the percentage of kids attending private schools across New Jersey. (See the map here)

To find out how many students in your community are attending private school, simply click on a municipality. You'll see the total number of children in grades K-12, along with breakdowns of the percentages of children going to public and private schools in three categories - kindergarten, elementary, and high school -- as well as the totals.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates attendance in public and private schools as part of the American Community Survey. Statewide, the data shows that 12.3 percent of all students attend private schools.

West Orange attendance in private schools is higher than the average at 19.4 percent. A look at other Essex County communities finds Millburn with 15.6 percent of its students going to private schools - rising to 24.8 percent for private high school.

Continue reading and use the map @ NJ Spotlight Interactive Map.

A sampling of Essex County towns above the state average include:

West Orange
Total students: 8,038
Pct. to private school: 19.4
Pct. to public school: 80.6
Pct. to public kindergarten: 71.6
Pct. to private kindergarten: 28.4
Pct. to public elementary: 83.5
Pct. to private elementary: 16.5
Pct. to public HS: 76.6
Pct. to private HS: 23.4

Cedar Grove
Total students: 2,114
Pct. to private school: 16.4
Pct. to public school: 83.6
Pct. to public kindergarten: 88.8
Pct. to private kindergarten: 11.2
Pct. to public elementary: 85.7
Pct. to private elementary: 14.3
Pct. to public HS: 79.3
Pct. to private HS: 20.7

Millburn
Total students: 5,024
Pct. to private school: 15.6
Pct. to public school: 84.4
Pct. to public kindergarten: 81.8
Pct. to private kindergarten: 18.2
Pct. to public elementary: 89.6
Pct. to private elementary: 10.4
Pct. to public HS: 75.2
Pct. to private HS: 24.8

Bloomfield
Total students: 6,864
Pct. to private school: 15.0
Pct. to public school: 85.0
Pct. to public kindergarten: 85.0
Pct. to private kindergarten: 15.0
Pct. to public elementary: 85.1
Pct. to private elementary: 14.9
Pct. to public HS: 84.8
Pct. to private HS: 15.2

South Orange
Total students: 2,459
Pct. to private school: 14.3
Pct. to public school: 85.7
Pct. to public kindergarten: 85.2
Pct. to private kindergarten: 14.8
Pct. to public elementary: 83.5
Pct. to private elementary: 16.5
Pct. to public HS: 89.9
Pct. to private HS: 10.1

Belleville
Total students: 5,375
Pct. to private school: 13.8
Pct. to public school: 86.2
Pct. to public kindergarten: 88.4
Pct. to private kindergarten: 11.6
Pct. to public elementary: 87.0
Pct. to private elementary: 13.0
Pct. to public HS: 84.6
Pct. to private HS: 15.4

Livingston
Total students: 5,899
Pct. to private school: 12.9
Pct. to public school: 87.1
Pct. to public kindergarten: 90.4
Pct. to private kindergarten: 9.6
Pct. to public elementary: 89.3
Pct. to private elementary: 10.7
Pct. to public HS: 82.2
Pct. to private HS: 17.8

A sampling of towns below the state average include:

Verona
Total students: 2,034
Pct. to private school: 6.3
Pct. to public school: 93.7
Pct. to public kindergarten: 100.0
Pct. to private kindergarten: 0.0
Pct. to public elementary: 94.2
Pct. to private elementary: 5.8
Pct. to public HS: 90.5
Pct. to private HS: 9.5

Newark
Total students: 50,830
Pct. to private school: 9.9
Pct. to public school: 90.1
Pct. to public kindergarten: 91.4
Pct. to private kindergarten: 8.6
Pct. to public elementary: 90.1
Pct. to private elementary: 9.9
Pct. to public HS: 89.7
Pct. to private HS: 10.3

Maplewood
Total students: 4,797
Pct. to private school: 10.0
Pct. to public school: 90.0
Pct. to public kindergarten: 84.7
Pct. to private kindergarten: 15.3
Pct. to public elementary: 91.6
Pct. to private elementary: 8.4
Pct. to public HS: 87.7
Pct. to private HS: 12.3

West Caldwell
Total students: 1,794
Pct. to private school: 10.0
Pct. to public school: 90.0
Pct. to public kindergarten: 81.2
Pct. to private kindergarten: 18.8
Pct. to public elementary: 94.6
Pct. to private elementary: 5.4
Pct. to public HS: 82.6
Pct. to private HS: 17.4

Montclair
Total students: 7,766
Pct. to private school: 11.8
Pct. to public school: 88.2
Pct. to public kindergarten: 94.5
Pct. to private kindergarten: 5.5
Pct. to public elementary: 88.9
Pct. to private elementary: 11.1
Pct. to public HS: 85.2
Pct. to private HS: 14.8

Caldwell
Total students: 1,161
Pct. to private school: 12.1
Pct. to public school: 87.9
Pct. to public kindergarten: 74.1
Pct. to private kindergarten: 25.9
Pct. to public elementary: 91.2
Pct. to private elementary: 8.8
Pct. to public HS: 92.3
Pct. to private HS: 7.7