An equity score of 37/100 ranks Garden City #190 of 252 districts in Kansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,487 per pupil, Garden City ranks #226 of 286 Kansas districts by per-pupil spending (Kansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
7,304
Total Enrollment
18
Schools
$13,487
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Garden City operates 18 public schools serving 7,304 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Kansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 13 elementary, 3 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Finney County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,487 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 286 Kansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 22.3% local, 68.1% state, and 9.6% 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 37/100, ranked #190 of 252 in Kansas against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 18 schools offering Advanced Placement (12 AP courses district-wide), a 340.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 72.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% White, 5.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Florence Wilson Elem, with a diversity index of 60.7/100.
Its largest campus is Garden City High School, enrolling 1,946 students (28% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Usd 457 Virtual Academy, at 76 students, a 26x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Garden City High School accounts for 26.6% of all Garden City student enrollment
That concentration means Garden 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.
Garden City school enrollment varies 26× across entities
Garden City school enrollment ranges from 76 students (lowest) to 1,946 students (highest), a spread of 1,870 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. 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.
Garden City student-counselor ratio is 340:1 — 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 Garden City is typically wider than the Garden City-aggregate figure suggests.
Garden City chronic absenteeism rate is 30.7% — 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.
Garden City has 18 schools, including 1 high, 3 combined, 1 middle, 13 elementary. Total enrollment is 7,304 students.
How much does Garden City spend per student?
Garden City spends $13,487 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #190 in Kansas.
What is the demographic composition of Garden City?
Garden City students are 72.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% White, 5.3% African American, 3.8% Asian, averaged across 18 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Garden City?
Garden City has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #190 out of 252 districts in Kansas.