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Detroit, Michigan - 105 schools
An equity score of 71/100 ranks Detroit Public Schools Community District #72 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $21,771 per pupil, Detroit Public Schools Community District ranks #26 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
48,548
Total Enrollment
105
Schools
$21,771
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Detroit Public Schools Community District operates 105 public schools serving 48,548 students, placing it among the largest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 71 combined, 24 high, 8 elementary, 2 middle schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio 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 Wayne County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,771 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 83 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 39.1% local, 41.7% state, and 19.1% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 71/100, ranked #72 of 707 in Michigan 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 17 of 105 schools offering Advanced Placement (74 AP courses district-wide), a 363.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 71.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 83.4% African American, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Detroit International Academy for Young Women, with a diversity index of 66.7/100.
Detroit Public Schools Community District school enrollment varies 499× across entities
Detroit Public Schools Community District school enrollment ranges from 5 students (lowest) to 2,493 students (highest), a spread of 2,488 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Detroit Public Schools Community District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 84.7% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Detroit Public Schools Community District student-counselor ratio is 363:1 — 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.
Detroit Public Schools Community District chronic absenteeism rate is 71.3% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Comparisons are relative to Detroit Public Schools Community District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Detroit Public Schools Community District?
Detroit Public Schools Community District has 105 schools, including 24 high, 71 combined, 8 elementary, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 48,548 students.
How much does Detroit Public Schools Community District spend per student?
Detroit Public Schools Community District spends $21,771 per student. The district has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #72 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Detroit Public Schools Community District?
Detroit Public Schools Community District students are 83.4% African American, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% White, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 105 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Detroit Public Schools Community District?
Detroit Public Schools Community District has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #72 out of 707 districts in Michigan.