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Bentonville, Arkansas - 24 schools
An equity score of 17/100 ranks Bentonville School District #238 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,698 per pupil, Bentonville School District ranks #133 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
18,674
Total Enrollment
24
Schools
$11,698
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Bentonville School District operates 24 public schools serving 18,674 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 18 elementary, 4 middle, 2 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 Benton County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,698 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 53.7% local, 37.5% state, and 8.8% 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 17/100, ranked #238 of 250 in Arkansas 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 24 schools offering Advanced Placement (57 AP courses district-wide), a 366.8:1 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 67.4% White, 13.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mary Mae Jones Elem. School, with a diversity index of 70.5/100.
Its largest campus is Bentonville High School, enrolling 3,579 students (18% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is R.E. Baker Elementary School, at 309 students, a 12x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Bentonville High School accounts for 18.3% of all Bentonville School District student enrollment
That concentration means Bentonville School District-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.
Bentonville School District school enrollment varies 12× across entities
Bentonville School District school enrollment ranges from 309 students (lowest) to 3,579 students (highest), a spread of 3,270 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.
Bentonville School District student-counselor ratio is 367:1 — 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.
Bentonville 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 Bentonville School District is typically wider than the Bentonville School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Bentonville School District?
Bentonville School District has 24 schools, including 2 high, 4 middle, 18 elementary. Total enrollment is 18,674 students.
How much does Bentonville School District spend per student?
Bentonville School District spends $11,698 per student. The district has an equity score of 17/100, ranking #238 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Bentonville School District?
Bentonville School District students are 67.4% White, 13.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 3.2% African American, averaged across 24 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Bentonville School District?
Bentonville School District has an equity score of 17/100, ranking #238 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.