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Allentown, Pennsylvania - 21 schools
An equity score of 49/100 ranks Allentown City Sd #319 of 648 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,572 per pupil, Allentown City Sd ranks #516 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
15,988
Total Enrollment
21
Schools
$15,572
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Allentown City Sd operates 21 public schools serving 15,988 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 14 elementary, 4 middle, 3 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Lehigh County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,572 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 29.0% local, 52.7% state, and 18.3% 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 49/100, ranked #319 of 648 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 21 schools offering Advanced Placement (16 AP courses district-wide), a 379.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 50.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 73.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% African American, 5.9% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ritter El Sch, with a diversity index of 54.6/100.
Its largest campus is William Allen Hs, enrolling 3,074 students (19% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Jackson Early Childhood Center, at 212 students, a 15x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
William Allen Hs accounts for 18.7% of all Allentown City Sd student enrollment
That concentration means Allentown City Sd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Allentown City Sd school enrollment varies 15× across entities
Allentown City Sd school enrollment ranges from 212 students (lowest) to 3,074 students (highest), a spread of 2,862 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Allentown City Sd has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 98.7% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Allentown City Sd student-counselor ratio is 380:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Allentown City Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 50.9% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Allentown City Sd has 21 schools, including 3 high, 4 middle, 14 elementary. Total enrollment is 15,988 students.
How much does Allentown City Sd spend per student?
Allentown City Sd spends $15,572 per student. The district has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #319 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of Allentown City Sd?
Allentown City Sd students are 73.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% African American, 5.9% White, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 21 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Allentown City Sd?
Allentown City Sd has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #319 out of 648 districts in Pennsylvania.