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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Federal Way, Washington - 43 schools
An equity score of 54/100 ranks Federal Way School District #100 of 239 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,898 per pupil, Federal Way School District ranks #168 of 311 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Federal Way School District operates 43 public schools serving 21,606 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 26 combined, 9 high, 5 middle, 3 elementary 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 King County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,898 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 311 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 16.9% local, 68.0% state, and 15.0% 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 54/100, ranked #100 of 239 in Washington against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 43 schools offering Advanced Placement (48 AP courses district-wide), a 404.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 32.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% White, 15.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Green Gables Elementary School, with a diversity index of 81.6/100.
Its largest campus is Thomas Jefferson High School, enrolling 1,810 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Federal Way Running Start Home School, at 17 students, a 106x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Federal Way School District school enrollment ranges from 17 students (lowest) to 1,810 students (highest), a spread of 1,793 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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.
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 43 schools in Federal Way School District.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Federal Way School District's schools, above the Washington average of 53.3.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Washington districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver School District | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Bethel School District | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Evergreen School District (Clark) | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Edmonds School District | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Everett School District | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Federal Way School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Seattle School District No. 1 →Federal Way School District has 43 schools, including 9 high, 5 middle, 3 elementary, 26 combined. Total enrollment is 21,606 students.
Federal Way School District spends $17,898 per student. The district has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #100 in Washington.
Federal Way School District students are 32.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% White, 15.7% African American, 13.2% Asian, averaged across 43 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Federal Way School District has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #100 out of 239 districts in Washington.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.