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South Lake Tahoe, California - 8 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks Lake Tahoe Unified #885 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,850 per pupil, Lake Tahoe Unified ranks #1002 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,648
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$14,850
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lake Tahoe Unified operates 8 public schools serving 3,648 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 high, 1 middle, 1 combined 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 El Dorado County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,850 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 48.4% local, 42.1% state, and 9.6% 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 45/100, ranked #885 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 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 301:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 37.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 46.3% White, 44.5% Hispanic or Latino, 3.0% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sierra House Elementary, with a diversity index of 61.7/100.
Its largest campus is South Tahoe High, enrolling 1,076 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mt. Tallac High, at 50 students, a 22x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
South Tahoe High accounts for 29.5% of all Lake Tahoe Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Lake Tahoe Unified-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.
Lake Tahoe Unified school enrollment varies 22× across entities
Lake Tahoe Unified school enrollment ranges from 50 students (lowest) to 1,076 students (highest), a spread of 1,026 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Lake Tahoe Unified student-counselor ratio is 301:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Lake Tahoe Unified is typically wider than the Lake Tahoe Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Lake Tahoe Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 37.4% — 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 Tahoe Unified has 8 schools, including 2 high, 1 middle, 4 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 3,648 students.
How much does Lake Tahoe Unified spend per student?
Lake Tahoe Unified spends $14,850 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #885 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Lake Tahoe Unified?
Lake Tahoe Unified students are 46.3% White, 44.5% Hispanic or Latino, 3.0% Asian, 0.5% African American, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lake Tahoe Unified?
Lake Tahoe Unified has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #885 out of 1517 districts in California.