How big is the Catholic school system in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis?
The Archdiocese's Office of Catholic Schools lists 68 schools serving about 22,500 students in 2024-25: 54 elementary schools, seven archdiocesan high schools, two private K-12 schools and five private Catholic schools. Not all are in this metro; the archdiocese covers much of central and southern Indiana.
In our four-county file, 47 schools are Catholic, and 42 of them are on the 2026-27 Choice list.
How do Indianapolis Catholic families pay tuition?
The usual order is the Choice award first, then the parish or parishioner rate, then an SGO scholarship if the household is under the income line, then the school's own aid. Chalkbeat Indiana noted in July 2026 that many Catholic schools charge church members less than non-members.
Three center-city schools, Central Catholic, Holy Angels and St. Philip Neri, operate together as Mother Theodore Catholic Academies, and the archdiocese points their families to Choice and the Institute for Quality Education.
Are Hamilton County Catholic schools part of the Archdiocese?
No. Carmel, Fishers and Noblesville Catholic schools, including Guerin Catholic High School, belong to the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, so their tuition rules and parish rates come from different parishes and a different diocesan office.
The Choice voucher works the same way on both sides of 96th Street; what changes is the district amount, which is lower in Carmel Clay and Hamilton Southeastern than in IPS.
| Archdiocese of Indianapolis | Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana | |
|---|---|---|
| Counties in this metro | Marion, Hendricks, Johnson | Hamilton |
| Choice voucher | Same program | Same program |
| Typical district award | $7,456 in IPS territory | $6,395 in Carmel Clay |