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.
Dunellen, New Jersey - 3 schools
An equity score of 36/100 ranks Dunellen Public School District #432 of 587 districts in New Jersey (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $20,161 per pupil, Dunellen Public School District ranks #573 of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending (New Jersey districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,305
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$20,161
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Dunellen Public School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,305 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New Jersey. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 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 Middlesex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $20,161 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Jersey compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.5% local, 51.2% state, and 6.3% 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 36/100, ranked #432 of 587 in New Jersey 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 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 363.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 9.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 59.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% White, 12.2% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lincoln Middle School, with a diversity index of 59.7/100.
John P. Faber Elementary School accounts for 45.6% of all Dunellen Public School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Dunellen Public School District a distant remainder — means Dunellen Public School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Dunellen Public School 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.
Dunellen Public School District chronic absenteeism rate is 9.7% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Dunellen Public School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in New Jersey
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Dunellen Public School District?
Dunellen Public School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,305 students.
How much does Dunellen Public School District spend per student?
Dunellen Public School District spends $20,161 per student. The district has an equity score of 36/100, ranking #432 in New Jersey.
What is the demographic composition of Dunellen Public School District?
Dunellen Public School District students are 59.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% White, 12.2% African American, 4.3% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Dunellen Public School District?
Dunellen Public School District has an equity score of 36/100, ranking #432 out of 587 districts in New Jersey.