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.
Garden Grove, California - 64 schools
An equity score of 59/100 ranks Garden Grove Unified #527 of 1526 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $20,023 per pupil, Garden Grove Unified ranks #477 of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Garden Grove Unified operates 64 public schools serving 38,164 students, placing it among the larger districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 44 elementary, 10 middle, 8 high, 2 combined schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a sizeable portfolio 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 Orange County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $20,023 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.3% local, 56.8% state, and 12.9% 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 59/100, ranked #527 of 1526 in California 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 7 of 64 schools offering Advanced Placement (146 AP courses district-wide), a 432.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 55.3% Hispanic or Latino, 34.7% Asian, 5.8% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Loyal Barker Elementary, with a diversity index of 73.5/100.
Its largest campus is Garden Grove High, enrolling 2,148 students (6% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Jordan Secondary Learning Center, at 97 students, a 22x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Garden Grove Unified school enrollment ranges from 97 students (lowest) to 2,148 students (highest), a spread of 2,051 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.
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 Variation between sub-units within Garden Grove Unified is typically wider than the Garden Grove Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 64 schools in Garden Grove Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Garden Grove Unified's schools, about the same as the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Sacramento City Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Riverside Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Irvine Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Santa Ana Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Garden Grove Unified'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 Los Angeles Unified →Garden Grove Unified has 64 schools, including 8 high, 44 elementary, 10 middle, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 38,164 students.
Garden Grove Unified spends $20,023 per student. The district has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #527 in California.
Garden Grove Unified students are 55.3% Hispanic or Latino, 34.7% Asian, 5.8% White, 0.5% African American, averaged across 64 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Garden Grove Unified has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #527 out of 1526 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.