Across the nation, 10.1 percent of kids in kindergarten through 12th grade are enrolled in private school, making that privilege a huge minority of students. And in Texas, it's even more rare: The census reports that only 6.7 percent of Lone Star kids attend private schools.

But here in Houston, there are several areas where it's not just a little more common than the national average. It's the norm.

In the Galleria's 77056 ZIP Code for instance, 60.9 percent of kids currently enrolled in the grades between kindergarten and 12th grade go private. If you're keeping score, that's about six times the national average, and nine times the state's rate. What makes it so high there?

The number is buoyed by the area's middle schoolers. While 40.6 percent of kids between first and fourth grade go to private schools, the rate jumps up to 78.5 percent in grades five through eight.

This can't be cheap for families — especially in a part of town where residents are already shelling out more than they might be able to afford just to live in their high-end homes. But the Galleria certainly isn't the only spot where more than half of families are choosing to forego the public school system.

In West U's 77005, where the area's wealthiest families live, 54.9 percent of students are enrolled in private schools, and the rate is 52.2 percent in River Oaks's 77019 area.

Some of the kids in these areas are attending schools within the Beltway, while others may commute to other parts of the greater Houston area, where prep schools are enjoying a moment of growth.

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