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, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Lake Elsinore, California - 24 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks Lake Elsinore Unified #807 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,740 per pupil, Lake Elsinore Unified ranks #1018 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
20,815
Total Enrollment
24
Schools
$14,740
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lake Elsinore Unified operates 24 public schools serving 20,815 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 15 elementary, 4 high, 4 middle, 1 combined 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 Riverside County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,740 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.9% local, 61.4% state, and 12.6% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 48/100, ranked #807 of 1517 in California 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 3 of 24 schools offering Advanced Placement (44 AP courses district-wide), a 896.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 41.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.0% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% White, 4.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Tuscany Hills Elementary, with a diversity index of 67.1/100.
Its largest campus is Temescal Canyon High, enrolling 2,373 students (12% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Keith Mccarthy Academy, at 332 students, a 7x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lake Elsinore Unified school enrollment varies 7.1× across entities
Lake Elsinore Unified school enrollment ranges from 332 students (lowest) to 2,373 students (highest), a spread of 2,041 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.
Lake Elsinore Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 59.8% 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.
Lake Elsinore Unified student-counselor ratio is 897:1 — 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.
Lake Elsinore Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 41.4% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Lake Elsinore Unified has 24 schools, including 4 high, 4 middle, 15 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 20,815 students.
How much does Lake Elsinore Unified spend per student?
Lake Elsinore Unified spends $14,740 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #807 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Lake Elsinore Unified?
Lake Elsinore Unified students are 68.0% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% White, 4.4% African American, 3.2% Asian, averaged across 24 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lake Elsinore Unified?
Lake Elsinore Unified has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #807 out of 1517 districts in California.