Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Albuquerque, New Mexico - 174 schools
An equity score of 44/100 ranks Albuquerque Public Schools #55 of 98 districts in New Mexico (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,108 per pupil, Albuquerque Public Schools ranks #95 of 143 New Mexico districts by per-pupil spending (New Mexico districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Albuquerque Public Schools operates 174 public schools serving 79,805 students, placing it among the largest districts in New Mexico. The school portfolio breaks down into 88 combined, 30 elementary, 29 middle, 27 high schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Bernalillo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,108 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 143 New Mexico districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Mexico compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 17.5% local, 68.0% state, and 14.5% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 44/100, ranked #55 of 98 in New Mexico against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 22 of 174 schools offering Advanced Placement (209 AP courses district-wide), a 288:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 50.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% White, 2.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is North Star Elementary, with a diversity index of 72.1/100.
Its largest campus is Volcano Vista High, enrolling 2,089 students (3% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Vision Quest Alternative Middle, at 1 students, a 2089x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Albuquerque Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 1 students (lowest) to 2,089 students (highest), a spread of 2,088 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Albuquerque Public Schools is typically wider than the Albuquerque Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 174 schools in Albuquerque Public Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Albuquerque Public Schools's schools, above the New Mexico average of 39.8.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The New Mexico districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Cruces Public Schools | Smaller | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Rio Rancho Public Schools | Smaller | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Gadsden Independent Schools | Smaller | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| Gallup-Mckinley Cty Schools | Smaller | Higher spending | Less locally funded |
| Santa Fe Public Schools | Smaller | Similar spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Albuquerque Public Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Las Cruces Public Schools →Albuquerque Public Schools has 174 schools, including 27 high, 88 combined, 30 elementary, 29 middle. Total enrollment is 79,805 students.
Albuquerque Public Schools spends $15,108 per student. The district has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #55 in New Mexico.
Albuquerque Public Schools students are 68.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% White, 2.6% African American, 1.8% Asian, averaged across 174 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Albuquerque Public Schools has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #55 out of 98 districts in New Mexico.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.