Active-duty military families homeschool their children at double the rate of civilians. They do so for different reasons, and the pandemic did not impact this trend as it did in the broader society.
By Angela R. Watson, March 2025
Active-Duty Military
While homeschooling has grown in popularity in civilian circles since the pandemic, it has long been a staple with military families. In fact, according to data from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, active-duty military families homeschool their children at double the rate of their civilian peers. In 2023-2024, around 6% of U.S. families homeschooled a child compared to 12% of active-duty military families.
*This is a partial estimate for 24-25 due to data limitations in that year and may be less accurate than those of 22-23 and 23-24. Estimates come from an average of multiple administrations of the Pulse Survey across the referenced academic year.
This high participation rate was evident even before the pandemic and was not strongly impacted by the pandemic. Historically, education is a top concern for military families, around 12% of whom homeschooled their children in 2018, 11% in 2019, and 13% who did so in both 2020 and 2021, according to the Blue Star Family Military Family Lifestyle Surveys (MFLS) from those years. Compare that to around 2-3% of civilian families homeschooling before the pandemic, and 6% doing so post-pandemic.
While the increased rate of homeschool participation is evident in military families, the reasons are less well-known and the literature is limited. According to the MFLS reports, military families, particularly those serving active duty, hold their children’s education as a top concern. Frequent moves or family separation are driving factors in choosing homeschooling to stabilize and prioritize their family life. This finding is fascinating given that U.S. Department of Defense schools on military bases are generally thought to be higher quality than most public schools and would, therefore, assumedly be more desirable to military families. However, the threat of frequent moves may offset the potential benefit of schools on military bases for some families.
Other Military Families
Interestingly, other types of military families, like those in the reserves or the U.S. National Guard, also homeschool at rates higher than those found in the general population. These families are less likely to move frequently or undergo lengthy family separations. Therefore, the reason for the increased homeschool participation rates is less apparent. Nevertheless, homeschool participation rates among reserve and National Guard members rival their active-duty military peers. For example, while around 12% of active-duty military families reported homeschooling in 2023, so did 11% of their reserve and National Guard peers, nearly double the general population’s rate of 6% at the time.
*This is a partial estimate for 24-25 due to data limitations in that year and may be less accurate than those of 22-23 and 23-24.
Conclusion
Understanding the homeschool participation rate differences between military families and the general population can help us better understand other special populations who choose to homeschool at higher-than-average rates, like families with children with special needs, advanced learners, and those suffering from bullying and racism.
Understanding why U.S. military families homeschool and how they use homeschooling to meet their familial needs when other choices are available can help inform our understanding of the broader homeschool population.
Data collection is ongoing and we will publish new results as they become available; last updated March 2025.