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Huntsville, Alabama - 43 schools
An equity score of 32/100 ranks Huntsville City #119 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,033 per pupil, Huntsville City ranks #75 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
23,776
Total Enrollment
43
Schools
$12,033
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Huntsville City operates 43 public schools serving 23,776 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 26 combined, 11 middle, 6 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Madison County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,033 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 43.6% local, 39.2% state, and 17.2% 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 32/100, ranked #119 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 6 of 43 schools offering Advanced Placement (91 AP courses district-wide), a 491:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 23.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 40.9% African American, 32.0% White, 18.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Whitesburg Middle School, with a diversity index of 70.4/100.
Its largest campus is Virgil Grissom High School, enrolling 1,847 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Chapman Elementary School, at 167 students, a 11x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Huntsville City school enrollment varies 11× across entities
Huntsville City school enrollment ranges from 167 students (lowest) to 1,847 students (highest), a spread of 1,680 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Huntsville City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 50.9% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants 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.
Huntsville City student-counselor ratio is 491:1 — 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.
Huntsville City chronic absenteeism rate is 23.5% — 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 Huntsville City is typically wider than the Huntsville City-aggregate figure suggests.
Huntsville City has 43 schools, including 6 high, 26 combined, 11 middle. Total enrollment is 23,776 students.
How much does Huntsville City spend per student?
Huntsville City spends $12,033 per student. The district has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #119 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Huntsville City?
Huntsville City students are 40.9% African American, 32.0% White, 18.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% Asian, averaged across 43 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Huntsville City?
Huntsville City has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #119 out of 146 districts in Alabama.