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Ankeny, Iowa - 17 schools
An equity score of 27/100 ranks Ankeny Comm School District #257 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,716 per pupil, Ankeny Comm School District ranks #243 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
12,750
Total Enrollment
17
Schools
$11,716
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Ankeny Comm School District operates 17 public schools serving 12,750 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 elementary, 3 combined, 2 high, 2 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Polk County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,716 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 43.8% local, 50.4% state, and 5.8% 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 27/100, ranked #257 of 303 in Iowa against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 17 schools offering Advanced Placement (37 AP courses district-wide), a 383.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 22.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 74.4% White, 9.4% Hispanic or Latino, 5.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Northwest Elementary School, with a diversity index of 53.8/100.
Its largest campus is Ankeny Centennial High School, enrolling 1,470 students (12% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Northwest Elementary School, at 346 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Ankeny Comm School District school enrollment varies 4.2× across entities
Ankeny Comm School District school enrollment ranges from 346 students (lowest) to 1,470 students (highest), a spread of 1,124 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Ankeny Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 384:1 — 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.
Ankeny Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 22.6% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Ankeny Comm School District is typically wider than the Ankeny Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Ankeny Comm School District?
Ankeny Comm School District has 17 schools, including 2 high, 3 combined, 2 middle, 10 elementary. Total enrollment is 12,750 students.
How much does Ankeny Comm School District spend per student?
Ankeny Comm School District spends $11,716 per student. The district has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #257 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Ankeny Comm School District?
Ankeny Comm School District students are 74.4% White, 9.4% Hispanic or Latino, 5.5% African American, 3.5% Asian, averaged across 17 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Ankeny Comm School District?
Ankeny Comm School District has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #257 out of 303 districts in Iowa.