An equity score of 44/100 ranks Fort Payne City #89 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,328 per pupil, Fort Payne City ranks #133 of 147 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,515
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,328
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Fort Payne City operates 5 public schools serving 3,515 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary, 1 middle 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 Dekalb County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,328 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 15 of 147 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.8% local, 60.1% state, and 19.1% 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 44/100, ranked #89 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 458.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 49.7% White, 42.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Fort Payne Middle School, with a diversity index of 57.6/100.
Its largest campus is Fort Payne High School, enrolling 1,106 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Williams Avenue Elementary School, at 131 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Fort Payne High School accounts for 31.5% of all Fort Payne City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Fort Payne City-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: high. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Fort Payne City school enrollment varies 8.4× across entities
Fort Payne City school enrollment ranges from 131 students (lowest) to 1,106 students (highest), a spread of 975 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.
Fort Payne City reports 68.3% free-lunch eligibility
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.
Fort Payne City student-counselor ratio is 458:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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.
Fort Payne City chronic absenteeism rate is 16.0% — 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 Fort Payne City is typically wider than the Fort Payne City-aggregate figure suggests.
Fort Payne City has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 elementary, 1 middle, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 3,515 students.
How much does Fort Payne City spend per student?
Fort Payne City spends $11,328 per student. The district has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #89 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Fort Payne City?
Fort Payne City students are 49.7% White, 42.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% African American, 0.8% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Fort Payne City?
Fort Payne City has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #89 out of 146 districts in Alabama.