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Lakewood, New Jersey - 8 schools
An equity score of 96/100 ranks Lakewood Township School District #2 of 587 districts in New Jersey (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $41,962 per pupil, Lakewood Township School District ranks #10 of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending (New Jersey districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,023
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$41,962
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lakewood Township School District operates 8 public schools serving 5,023 students, placing it among the smaller districts in New Jersey. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 3 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Ocean County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $41,962 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 65 of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Jersey compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.6% local, 32.3% state, and 36.2% 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 96/100, ranked #2 of 587 in New Jersey against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (7 AP courses district-wide), a 381.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 18.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 84.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% White, 5.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lakewood Early Childhood Center, with a diversity index of 49.6/100.
Its largest campus is Lakewood High School, enrolling 1,295 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Lakewood Early Childhood Center, at 248 students, a 5x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lakewood High School accounts for 25.8% of all Lakewood Township School District student enrollment
That concentration means Lakewood Township School District-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.
Lakewood Township School District school enrollment varies 5.2× across entities
Lakewood Township School District school enrollment ranges from 248 students (lowest) to 1,295 students (highest), a spread of 1,047 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.
Lakewood Township School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 84.2% 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 — including this one — 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.
Lakewood Township School District student-counselor ratio is 381:1 — 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.
Lakewood Township School District chronic absenteeism rate is 18.9% — 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 Lakewood Township School District is typically wider than the Lakewood Township School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Lakewood Township School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in New Jersey
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Lakewood Township School District?
Lakewood Township School District has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 3 combined, 3 elementary. Total enrollment is 5,023 students.
How much does Lakewood Township School District spend per student?
Lakewood Township School District spends $41,962 per student. The district has an equity score of 96/100, ranking #2 in New Jersey.
What is the demographic composition of Lakewood Township School District?
Lakewood Township School District students are 84.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% White, 5.9% African American, 1.4% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lakewood Township School District?
Lakewood Township School District has an equity score of 96/100, ranking #2 out of 587 districts in New Jersey.