An equity score of 49/100 ranks Houghton Lake Community Schools #356 of 702 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,449 per pupil, Houghton Lake Community Schools ranks #512 of 812 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,162
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$13,449
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Houghton Lake Community Schools operates 3 public schools serving 1,162 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined 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 Roscommon County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,449 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 812 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 57.2% local, 23.4% state, and 19.3% 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 49/100, ranked #356 of 702 in Michigan against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 242:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 75.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.4% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Collins Elementary School, with a diversity index of 21.9/100.
Its largest campus is Collins Elementary School, enrolling 489 students (45% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Houghton Lake Community Education, at 103 students, a 5x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Collins Elementary School accounts for 42.1% of all Houghton Lake Community Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Houghton Lake Community Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Houghton Lake Community Schools school enrollment varies 4.7× across entities
Houghton Lake Community Schools school enrollment ranges from 103 students (lowest) to 489 students (highest), a spread of 386 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.
Houghton Lake Community Schools reports 70.8% free-lunch eligibility
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.
Houghton Lake Community Schools student-counselor ratio is 242:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Houghton Lake Community Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 75.0% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Comparisons are relative to Houghton Lake Community Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
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How many schools are in Houghton Lake Community Schools?
Houghton Lake Community Schools has 3 schools, including 3 combined. Total enrollment is 1,162 students.
How much does Houghton Lake Community Schools spend per student?
Houghton Lake Community Schools spends $13,449 per student. The district has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #356 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Houghton Lake Community Schools?
Houghton Lake Community Schools students are 91.4% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Houghton Lake Community Schools?
Houghton Lake Community Schools has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #356 out of 702 districts in Michigan.