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Hattiesburg, Mississippi - 6 schools
An equity score of 72/100 ranks Forrest County School District #22 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,333 per pupil, Forrest County School District ranks #31 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,129
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$13,333
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Forrest County School District operates 6 public schools serving 2,129 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 2 elementary 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 Forrest County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,333 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.4% local, 38.9% state, and 30.6% 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 72/100, ranked #22 of 146 in Mississippi 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 1 of 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 944.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 25.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.4% African American, 33.4% White, 8.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Dixie Attendance Center, with a diversity index of 60.3/100.
South Forrest Attendance Center accounts for 28.4% of all Forrest County School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Forrest County 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.
Forrest County School District school enrollment varies 2.9× across entities
Forrest County School District school enrollment ranges from 209 students (lowest) to 604 students (highest), a spread of 395 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Forrest County School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 81.4% 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.
Forrest County School District student-counselor ratio is 945:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Forrest County School District chronic absenteeism rate is 25.4% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Forrest County School District is typically wider than the Forrest County School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Forrest County School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Mississippi
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Forrest County School District?
Forrest County School District has 6 schools, including 4 combined, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 2,129 students.
How much does Forrest County School District spend per student?
Forrest County School District spends $13,333 per student. The district has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #22 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Forrest County School District?
Forrest County School District students are 48.4% African American, 33.4% White, 8.0% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Forrest County School District?
Forrest County School District has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #22 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.