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Fort Dodge, Iowa - 7 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Fort Dodge Comm School District #70 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,309 per pupil, Fort Dodge Comm School District ranks #180 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,676
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$12,309
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Fort Dodge Comm School District operates 7 public schools serving 3,676 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined 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 Webster County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,309 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.4% local, 48.2% state, and 20.4% 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 67/100, ranked #70 of 303 in Iowa 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 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 320.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 31.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 67.0% White, 15.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Duncombe Elementary School, with a diversity index of 64.6/100.
Its largest campus is Fort Dodge High School, enrolling 1,020 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Feelhaver Elementary School, at 227 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Fort Dodge High School accounts for 27.7% of all Fort Dodge Comm School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Fort Dodge Comm School District-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.
Fort Dodge Comm School District school enrollment varies 4.5× across entities
Fort Dodge Comm School District school enrollment ranges from 227 students (lowest) to 1,020 students (highest), a spread of 793 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.
Fort Dodge Comm School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.2% 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 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.
Fort Dodge Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 320:1 — 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 Fort Dodge Comm School District is typically wider than the Fort Dodge Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Fort Dodge Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 31.8% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Fort Dodge Comm School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Iowa
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Fort Dodge Comm School District?
Fort Dodge Comm School District has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 4 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 3,676 students.
How much does Fort Dodge Comm School District spend per student?
Fort Dodge Comm School District spends $12,309 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #70 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Fort Dodge Comm School District?
Fort Dodge Comm School District students are 67.0% White, 15.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% African American, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Fort Dodge Comm School District?
Fort Dodge Comm School District has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #70 out of 303 districts in Iowa.