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Hattiesburg, Mississippi - 8 schools
An equity score of 50/100 ranks Hattiesburg Public School Dist #72 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,121 per pupil, Hattiesburg Public School Dist ranks #35 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,667
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$13,121
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Hattiesburg Public School Dist operates 8 public schools serving 3,667 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 2 middle, 1 high 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 Forrest County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,121 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.2% local, 32.2% state, and 25.6% 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 50/100, ranked #72 of 146 in Mississippi 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 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 361.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 22.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 77.1% African American, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.4% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Woodley Elementary School, with a diversity index of 57.2/100.
Its largest campus is Hattiesburg High School, enrolling 1,014 students (26% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Hattiesburg Steam Academy, at 263 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Hattiesburg High School accounts for 25.9% of all Hattiesburg Public School Dist student enrollment
That concentration means Hattiesburg Public School Dist-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Hattiesburg Public School Dist school enrollment varies 3.9× across entities
Hattiesburg Public School Dist school enrollment ranges from 263 students (lowest) to 1,014 students (highest), a spread of 751 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.
Hattiesburg Public School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Hattiesburg Public School Dist student-counselor ratio is 362:1 — 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.
Hattiesburg Public School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 22.4% — 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 Hattiesburg Public School Dist is typically wider than the Hattiesburg Public School Dist-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Hattiesburg Public School Dist's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Mississippi
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Hattiesburg Public School Dist?
Hattiesburg Public School Dist has 8 schools, including 1 high, 5 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 3,667 students.
How much does Hattiesburg Public School Dist spend per student?
Hattiesburg Public School Dist spends $13,121 per student. The district has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #72 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Hattiesburg Public School Dist?
Hattiesburg Public School Dist students are 77.1% African American, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.4% White, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Hattiesburg Public School Dist?
Hattiesburg Public School Dist has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #72 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.