Manhattan has the worst chronic absenteeism in NYC — wealth doesn't protect attendance
The question
Why does Manhattan have the highest chronic absenteeism of any borough, even though it also has some of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods?
Manhattan has the highest chronic-absenteeism rate of any borough (41.4% in 2023-24), narrowly above the Bronx (40.1%) and well above Queens and Staten Island (33-34%). Manhattan also has the widest within-borough spread (school-level standard deviation of 18.7, against 11.7 in the Bronx). Two distinct populations drive both findings. Wealthy zoned schools where post-COVID family attendance norms have loosened pull the upper end of the borough average down. High-poverty schools where housing instability and temporary-shelter placements correlate with lower attendance pull the bottom end further down. Manhattan has more of both than the other boroughs do.
Data analysis
Investigation run 2026-05-31.
TL;DR
Manhattan schools average 41.4% chronic absenteeism in 2023-24, the highest of any borough. The Bronx follows at 40.1%, Brooklyn at 38.6%, Queens at 33.6%, Staten Island at 33.1%. Manhattan also has the widest within-borough spread — the highest- and lowest-attending schools in the city are both here. Wealthy families taking longer family trips and the borough's high concentration of temporary housing both contribute, in different parts of the borough.
Chronic absenteeism by borough (2023-24)
Why Manhattan
Manhattan has two distinct populations contributing to high absenteeism: (1) wealthy zoned schools (UWS, UES, Tribeca) where families take longer or more-frequent trips and where post-COVID attendance norms have loosened; (2) high-poverty schools (Washington Heights, Harlem, LES) where housing instability and temporary-shelter placements correlate with lower attendance. Manhattan has both kinds in higher proportion than other boroughs.
The spread is the story
The Bronx's standard deviation of 11.7 means schools cluster tightly around the 40% borough mean. Manhattan's standard deviation of 18.7 means schools range from 12% to over 75%. The borough's wealthiest schools are among the best-attending in New York City; the schools serving students in temporary housing are among the worst. The borough average of 41% sits between two very different sets of schools, and the average alone obscures that.
Patterns within Manhattan, by district
Downtown Manhattan districts (Districts 1 and 2) combine the wealth of Tribeca and the Upper East and West Sides with the lower-income areas of the Lower East Side. Uptown, District 5 (Harlem) and District 6 (Washington Heights) have historically run high on chronic absenteeism, while District 3 (Upper West Side) runs lower. The within-Manhattan spread is severe.
What's next
Break Manhattan down by district and by share of students in temporary housing. The story breaks cleanly into two distinct Manhattans.
Methodology & replication recipe — the data sources, queries, and steps behind this analysis.
More on borough & district
- Districts 2 and 26 tie at NYC's top — but one is screened-rich and one is zoned
- The chronic absenteeism map looks like the temporary-housing map
- Where you go to school in NYC matters less than you'd think — and more than you'd want
- Fair Student Funding still doesn't cover the schools that need it most
- Where NYC's enrollment decline is hitting hardest — and where it isn't