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Pico Rivera, California - 13 schools
An equity score of 64/100 ranks El Rancho Unified #398 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,802 per pupil, El Rancho Unified ranks #566 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
7,255
Total Enrollment
13
Schools
$16,802
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
El Rancho Unified operates 13 public schools serving 7,255 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 8 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high 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 Los Angeles County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,802 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 24.2% local, 61.8% state, and 14.0% 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 64/100, ranked #398 of 1517 in California 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 1 of 13 schools offering Advanced Placement (16 AP courses district-wide), a 256.2:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 40.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 97.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% White, 0.9% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is North Park Academy of the Arts, with a diversity index of 7.6/100.
Its largest campus is El Rancho High, enrolling 1,995 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Ruben Salazar Continuation, at 178 students, a 11x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
El Rancho High accounts for 27.5% of all El Rancho Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means El Rancho Unified-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.
El Rancho Unified school enrollment varies 11× across entities
El Rancho Unified school enrollment ranges from 178 students (lowest) to 1,995 students (highest), a spread of 1,817 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.
El Rancho Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.6% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
El Rancho Unified student-counselor ratio is 256:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within El Rancho Unified is typically wider than the El Rancho Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
El Rancho Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 40.8% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
El Rancho Unified has 13 schools, including 2 high, 3 middle, 8 elementary. Total enrollment is 7,255 students.
How much does El Rancho Unified spend per student?
El Rancho Unified spends $16,802 per student. The district has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #398 in California.
What is the demographic composition of El Rancho Unified?
El Rancho Unified students are 97.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% White, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% African American, averaged across 13 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for El Rancho Unified?
El Rancho Unified has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #398 out of 1517 districts in California.