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Arlington, Massachusetts - 11 schools
An equity score of 32/100 ranks Arlington #236 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $20,341 per pupil, Arlington ranks #236 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,047
Total Enrollment
11
Schools
$20,341
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Arlington operates 11 public schools serving 6,047 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 7 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high, 1 combined 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 Middlesex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $20,341 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 62.2% local, 32.9% state, and 4.9% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 32/100, ranked #236 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 11 schools offering Advanced Placement (22 AP courses district-wide), a 307.4:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 12.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 62.1% White, 14.5% Asian, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Menotomy Preschool, with a diversity index of 70.4/100.
Its largest campus is Arlington High, enrolling 1,677 students (27% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Menotomy Preschool, at 100 students, a 17x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Arlington High accounts for 27.4% of all Arlington student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Arlington-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.
Arlington school enrollment varies 17× across entities
Arlington school enrollment ranges from 100 students (lowest) to 1,677 students (highest), a spread of 1,577 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.
Arlington student-counselor ratio is 307:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Arlington is typically wider than the Arlington-aggregate figure suggests.
Arlington chronic absenteeism rate is 12.5% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.