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, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Council Bluffs, Iowa - 15 schools
An equity score of 84/100 ranks Council Bluffs Comm School District #13 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,703 per pupil, Council Bluffs Comm School District ranks #31 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
8,784
Total Enrollment
15
Schools
$14,703
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Council Bluffs Comm School District operates 15 public schools serving 8,784 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 combined, 2 high, 2 middle, 1 elementary 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 Pottawattamie County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,703 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 33 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.2% local, 53.5% state, and 16.3% 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 84/100, ranked #13 of 303 in Iowa against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 15 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 370.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 72.3% White, 17.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Rue Elementary School, with a diversity index of 51.4/100.
Its largest campus is Abraham Lincoln High School, enrolling 1,333 students (16% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Crescent Elementary School, at 73 students, a 18x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Abraham Lincoln High School accounts for 15.2% of all Council Bluffs Comm School District student enrollment
That concentration means Council Bluffs Comm 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.
Council Bluffs Comm School District school enrollment varies 18× across entities
Council Bluffs Comm School District school enrollment ranges from 73 students (lowest) to 1,333 students (highest), a spread of 1,260 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.
Council Bluffs Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 370:1 — 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.
Council Bluffs Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 27.5% — 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 Council Bluffs Comm School District is typically wider than the Council Bluffs Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Council Bluffs Comm School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Iowa
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Council Bluffs Comm School District?
Council Bluffs Comm School District has 15 schools, including 2 high, 2 middle, 10 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 8,784 students.
How much does Council Bluffs Comm School District spend per student?
Council Bluffs Comm School District spends $14,703 per student. The district has an equity score of 84/100, ranking #13 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Council Bluffs Comm School District?
Council Bluffs Comm School District students are 72.3% White, 17.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.5% African American, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 15 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Council Bluffs Comm School District?
Council Bluffs Comm School District has an equity score of 84/100, ranking #13 out of 303 districts in Iowa.