Educational outcomes in Westchester County show both strong overall performance and persistent disparities by race and ethnicity.

Westchester County continues to invest heavily in public education. In 2024, public school districts in the county spent $35,400 per student, slightly above the statewide level. However, spending growth has been modest over time: after adjusting for inflation, per-student spending increased 3% in Westchester from 2010 to 2024, compared with 20% statewide. Among comparison counties, Putnam spent the most per pupil, followed by Nassau, Westchester and Rockland.

Student suspensions have declined substantially. In 2025, 2.1% of Westchester students, or about 2,900 students, were suspended for at least one day. This represents a 54% decrease in the number of suspensions since 2015, a larger decline than the state and comparison counties. Westchester’s suspension rate was below the statewide rate and slightly below Nassau and Putnam, though slightly higher than Rockland.

Academic outcomes show clear racial and ethnic disparities beginning in elementary school. Early literacy skills develop at different rates among young children, and all can be part of a healthy growth pattern. But by 3^rd grade, students who haven’t mastered the basics and aren’t reading on grade level are at risk of falling behind and having serious trouble catching up. In Westchester County, passing rates on the state’s English Language Arts assessment were far lower for Hispanic and African American students (44% and 45%, respectively) than for Asian and White students (82% and76%, respectively) in 2025.

Graduation rates show smaller but still meaningful disparities. For the Class of 2025, 97% of Asian and White students in Westchester graduated on time, compared with 86% of African American and Hispanic students. Graduation rates for Asian, Hispanic and White students were at least five points above state levels. Since 2009, graduation rates improved most among African American and Hispanic students, increasing by 19 and 21 points, respectively.

A variety of factors contribute to disparities in test scores and other measures of student achievement, including school systems that are highly segregated with different mixes of socioeconomic classes and levels of resources. Students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Access to resources such as qualified/experienced teachers, advanced courses, facilities and technology is often lower in schools with large Black and Latino populations. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately white, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color.  

Educational attainment among adults also varies sharply by race and ethnicity. In 2020–24, 74% of Asian adults and 64% of White adults in Westchester had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 39% of African American adults and 28% of Hispanic adults. Although educational attainment increased for all groups since 2010–14, Westchester continued to have larger gaps between White adults and African American and Hispanic adults than the state, nation and similar counties.

This disparity may have a variety of causes. The systemic barriers facing students of color provide them with less access to core college preparatory classes and contributes to them faring worse on standardized admissions tests. Also contributing are lower levels of wealth in families of color and legacy admissions that privilege students with parents or other relatives who attended certain colleges. When Black and Latino students enter higher education institutions, they are less likely to attain a college degree, given weaker academic preparation and financial hardship.