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.
Grand Rapids, Michigan - 50 schools
An equity score of 59/100 ranks Grand Rapids Public Schools #195 of 702 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,565 per pupil, Grand Rapids Public Schools ranks #108 of 812 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Grand Rapids Public Schools operates 50 public schools serving 13,787 students, placing it among the larger districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 33 combined, 9 high, 8 middle 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 Kent County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,565 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 812 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 32.7% local, 45.7% state, and 21.6% 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 59/100, ranked #195 of 702 in Michigan 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 50 schools offering Advanced Placement (16 AP courses district-wide), a 339.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 55.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 34.3% Hispanic or Latino, 32.0% African American, 25.3% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Palmer School, with a diversity index of 75.0/100.
Its largest campus is City Middlehigh, enrolling 955 students (7% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Home Education Site, at 1 students, a 955x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Grand Rapids Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 1 students (lowest) to 955 students (highest), a spread of 954 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. 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 Variation between sub-units within Grand Rapids Public Schools is typically wider than the Grand Rapids Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
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 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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 50 schools in Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Grand Rapids Public Schools's schools, above the Michigan average of 36.2.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Michigan districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livonia Public Schools School District | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Chippewa Valley Schools | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Warren Consolidated Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Rochester Community School District | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Troy School District | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Grand Rapids Public Schools'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 Detroit Public Schools Community District →Grand Rapids Public Schools has 50 schools, including 33 combined, 9 high, 8 middle. Total enrollment is 13,787 students.
Grand Rapids Public Schools spends $17,565 per student. The district has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #195 in Michigan.
Grand Rapids Public Schools students are 34.3% Hispanic or Latino, 32.0% African American, 25.3% White, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 50 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Grand Rapids Public Schools has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #195 out of 702 districts in Michigan.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.