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Darien, Connecticut - 7 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Darien School District #117 of 174 districts in Connecticut (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $25,919 per pupil, Darien School District ranks #59 of 191 Connecticut districts by per-pupil spending (Connecticut districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,700
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$25,919
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Darien School District operates 7 public schools serving 4,700 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Connecticut. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Western Connecticut Planning Region.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $25,919 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 191 Connecticut districts by per-pupil spending. See how Connecticut compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 84.0% local, 14.8% state, and 1.3% 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 39/100, ranked #117 of 174 in Connecticut 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 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (23 AP courses district-wide), a 173.3:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 5.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 79.5% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 6.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Royle Elementary School, with a diversity index of 42.0/100.
Its largest campus is Darien High School, enrolling 1,382 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Royle Elementary School, at 342 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Darien High School accounts for 29.4% of all Darien School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Darien 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.
Darien School District school enrollment varies 4.0× across entities
Darien School District school enrollment ranges from 342 students (lowest) to 1,382 students (highest), a spread of 1,040 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.
Darien School District student-counselor ratio is 173:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Darien School District chronic absenteeism rate is 5.1% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Darien School District has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 5 combined. Total enrollment is 4,700 students.
How much does Darien School District spend per student?
Darien School District spends $25,919 per student. The district has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #117 in Connecticut.
What is the demographic composition of Darien School District?
Darien School District students are 79.5% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 6.8% Asian, 0.7% African American, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Darien School District?
Darien School District has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #117 out of 174 districts in Connecticut.