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Gulf Shores, Alabama - 3 schools
An equity score of 12/100 ranks Gulf Shores City #143 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,463 per pupil, Gulf Shores City ranks #106 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,450
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$11,463
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Gulf Shores City operates 3 public schools serving 2,450 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 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 Baldwin County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,463 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 64.4% local, 24.7% state, and 10.9% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 12/100, ranked #143 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 556.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 79.8% White, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Gulf Shores Elementary School, with a diversity index of 36.4/100.
Its largest campus is Gulf Shores Elementary School, enrolling 1,230 students (45% of the district's total enrollment).
Gulf Shores Elementary School accounts for 44.8% of all Gulf Shores City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Gulf Shores City-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Gulf Shores City school enrollment varies 2.1× across entities
Gulf Shores City school enrollment ranges from 591 students (lowest) to 1,230 students (highest), a spread of 639 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.
Gulf Shores City student-counselor ratio is 557:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Gulf Shores City chronic absenteeism rate is 14.6% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Gulf Shores City has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 2,450 students.
How much does Gulf Shores City spend per student?
Gulf Shores City spends $11,463 per student. The district has an equity score of 12/100, ranking #143 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Gulf Shores City?
Gulf Shores City students are 79.8% White, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% African American, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Gulf Shores City?
Gulf Shores City has an equity score of 12/100, ranking #143 out of 146 districts in Alabama.