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Lancaster, Ohio - 10 schools
An equity score of 44/100 ranks Lancaster City #417 of 806 districts in Ohio (state average 46). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,399 per pupil, Lancaster City ranks #548 of 966 Ohio districts by per-pupil spending (Ohio districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,263
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$13,399
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lancaster City operates 10 public schools serving 6,263 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Ohio. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 3 combined, 2 middle, 1 high 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 Fairfield County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,399 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 966 Ohio districts by per-pupil spending. See how Ohio compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 51.5% local, 35.3% state, and 13.2% 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 44/100, ranked #417 of 806 in Ohio against a state average of 46, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 10 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 556.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 43.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 85.0% White, 4.0% African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Gorsuch West Elementary School, with a diversity index of 36.6/100.
Its largest campus is Lancaster High School, enrolling 1,995 students (33% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Early Childhood Center 2, at 18 students, a 111x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lancaster High School accounts for 31.9% of all Lancaster City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Lancaster City-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.
Lancaster City school enrollment varies 111× across entities
Lancaster City school enrollment ranges from 18 students (lowest) to 1,995 students (highest), a spread of 1,977 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Lancaster City student-counselor ratio is 556:1 — 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.
Lancaster City chronic absenteeism rate is 43.6% — 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.
Lancaster City has 10 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle, 4 elementary, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 6,263 students.
How much does Lancaster City spend per student?
Lancaster City spends $13,399 per student. The district has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #417 in Ohio.
What is the demographic composition of Lancaster City?
Lancaster City students are 85.0% White, 4.0% African American, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 10 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lancaster City?
Lancaster City has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #417 out of 806 districts in Ohio.