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Fargo, North Dakota - 25 schools
An equity score of 66/100 ranks Fargo 1 #22 of 101 districts in North Dakota (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,941 per pupil, Fargo 1 ranks #82 of 168 North Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (North Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
11,431
Total Enrollment
25
Schools
$16,941
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Fargo 1 operates 25 public schools serving 11,431 students, placing it in the mid-size range in North Dakota. The school portfolio breaks down into 16 elementary, 5 high, 3 middle, 1 combined schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Cass County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,941 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 168 North Dakota districts by per-pupil spending. See how North Dakota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 36.1% local, 48.6% state, and 15.3% 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 66/100, ranked #22 of 101 in North Dakota against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 25 schools offering Advanced Placement (51 AP courses district-wide), a 317.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 32.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 60.0% White, 15.4% African American, 10.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Jefferson Elementary School, with a diversity index of 76.8/100.
Its largest campus is Fargo Davies High School, enrolling 1,277 students (11% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Fargo K-8 Virtual Academy, at 22 students, a 58x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Fargo 1 school enrollment varies 58× across entities
Fargo 1 school enrollment ranges from 22 students (lowest) to 1,277 students (highest), a spread of 1,255 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Fargo 1 student-counselor ratio is 317:1 — 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 Fargo 1 is typically wider than the Fargo 1-aggregate figure suggests.
Fargo 1 chronic absenteeism rate is 32.0% — 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.