Lancaster SD
Public school district · Lancaster County · Pennsylvania · NCES district ID 4213140
Lancaster SD spent $22,507 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, more than 93% of the other Pennsylvania districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 (median $17,594). Its 19 schools enrolled 9,901 students in 2024-25; 49.2% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $24,706 per student, up 9.8% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year). Its four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 was 76% (Pennsylvania: 87.5%).
NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method
Spending per student among Pennsylvania districts of similar size
Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. The 9 districts closest to Lancaster SD in enrollment (9,262 to 10,477 students) and Lancaster SD itself.
Where the money came from
$276,960,000 in revenue: 49.2% state, 36.9% local and 13.8% federal. Total spending including $12,607,000 of capital outlay was $265,805,000, or $26,383 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.
- State$136,301,000 49%
- Local$102,319,000 37%
- Federal$38,340,000 14%
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 418 districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).
Enrollment fell from 2022-23 to 2024-25
10,032 students in 2022-23, 9,964 students in 2023-24, 9,901 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.
Teachers and students per teacher
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 10,032 | 813.8 | 12.3 |
| 2023-24 | 9,964 | 841.8 | 11.8 |
| 2024-25 | 9,901 | 855.0 | 11.6 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.
$72,230,000 in teacher salaries in fiscal year 2022-23, $7,169 per student
Lancaster SD booked $72,230,000 of teacher salaries in its 2022-23 finance report and counted 838 full-time teachers in its Common Core of Data district staff file for 2022-23 (the school files behind the staffing figures on this page count teachers separately, so the two can differ), or $86,162 of salary spending per teacher. That is more than 63 in 100 Pennsylvania districts with a figure (state median $81,309, 647 districts). It is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, so the result can differ widely from the average salary the district publishes (its salary schedule gives pay); benefits are left out, and states book salaries differently, so compare districts within one state. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Pennsylvania teacher salary at $72,248 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).
| Program | Teacher salaries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Regular programs | $51,222,000 | 70.9% |
| Special education | $18,415,000 | 25.5% |
| Vocational | $569,000 | 0.8% |
| Other programs | $2,024,000 | 2.8% |
Teacher salaries per student, fiscal years 2018-19 to 2022-23
The district's teacher salary bill divided by its fall enrollment each year: $5,734 in 2018-19, $5,949 in 2019-20, $6,380 in 2020-21, $6,697 in 2021-22, $7,169 in 2022-23.
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal years 2019 to 2023: teacher salaries in regular, special, vocational and other programs (Z35 to Z38) and fall membership (V33); NCES Common Core of Data LEA staff file 2022-23, teachers (full-time equivalent).
State test results, 2021-22
In 2021-22, the students tested in Lancaster SD scored proficient or above: 28% in reading and 13% in math, against 54% in reading and 34% in math across Pennsylvania. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Pennsylvania, not across states. Where a state published results by grade only, the grades tested are combined, weighted by the students tested in each.
| Subject | This district | Pennsylvania | Students tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts | 28% | 54% | 4,281 |
| Math | 13% | 34% | 4,330 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
Graduation rate, class of 2023
76% of the 777 students in Lancaster SD's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 87.5% across Pennsylvania. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and counts those who earned a regular diploma by 2023. Every state computes it the same way under federal law, though each sets its own diploma requirements.
| This district | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Four-year graduation rate | 76% | 87.5% |
| Students in the class | 777 | 136,045 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express: ED shows district rates as ranges (for example 90-94%) and leaves out small classes.
13 elementary schools, 5,043 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin School | 623 | 11.8 | 99.9% | Schoolwide program |
| Washington Elementary School | 467 | 9.5 | 100.0% | Schoolwide program |
| Carter and MacRae Elementary School | 444 | 9.3 | 91.0% | Schoolwide program |
| Lafayette Elementary School | 437 | 10.9 | 100.0% | Schoolwide program |
| King Elementary School | 413 | 12.1 | 97.6% | Schoolwide program |
| Wickersham Elementary School | 402 | 11.8 | 98.8% | Schoolwide program |
| Smith-Wade-El Elementary School | 397 | 12.0 | 100.0% | Schoolwide program |
| Hamilton Elementary School | 339 | 10.9 | 98.8% | Schoolwide program |
| Price Elementary School | 331 | 8.9 | 100.0% | Schoolwide program |
| Wharton Elementary School | 327 | 12.1 | 100.0% | Schoolwide program |
| Burrowes Elementary School | 308 | 11.0 | 81.8% | Schoolwide program |
| Ross Elementary School | 281 | 13.4 | 94.0% | Schoolwide program |
One more elementary school
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Elementary School | 274 | 10.1 | 99.3% | Schoolwide program |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
4 middle schools, 1,953 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Middle School | 524 | 10.3 | 82.6% | Schoolwide program |
| Reynolds Middle School | 511 | 11.6 | 86.1% | Schoolwide program |
| Lincoln Middle School | 465 | 9.1 | 92.3% | Schoolwide program |
| Wheatland Middle School | 453 | 9.6 | 82.8% | Schoolwide program |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
2 high schools, 2,905 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCaskey Campus | 2,600 | 14.9 | 85.3% | Schoolwide program |
| Phoenix Academy | 305 | 12.2 | 87.2% | Not Title I |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
Contact Lancaster SD
- Website: sdlancaster.org
- Phone: (717) 291-6121
- Office: 251 S Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.
What to look at next about Lancaster SD
- Pennsylvania districts by spending per studentLancaster SD ranks 29 of 418 Pennsylvania districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($22,507).#29 of 418
- Every school district in PennsylvaniaLancaster SD is the number 16 by size of 775 Pennsylvania districts, with 10,075 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#16 of 775
- Erie's Public SchoolsThe next larger Pennsylvania district: 10,100 students in fall 2022, $18,072 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$18,072
- Cumberland Valley SDThe next smaller Pennsylvania district: 10,028 students in fall 2022, $14,852 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$14,852
- Compare Lancaster SD with Erie's Public SchoolsEnrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
- McCaskey Campus, its largest high school2,600 students in 2024-25, 14.9 per teacher.2,600
- Teacher salary spending across PennsylvaniaLancaster SD spent $86,162 in salaries per full-time teacher in fiscal year 2022-23 (state median $81,309); spending, not a salary.$86,162
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).
Questions about Lancaster SD
How many schools and students are in Lancaster SD?
19 schools were open in 2024-25 (13 elementary, 4 middle, 2 high), enrolling 9,901 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.How much does Lancaster SD spend per student?
$22,507 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the Pennsylvania median for districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $17,594 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $24,706 per student, up 9.8% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).Where does Lancaster SD's money come from?
$276,960,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 49.2% state, 36.9% local and 13.8% federal (NCES F-33).How many children in Lancaster SD live in poverty?
The Census Bureau estimates that 2,428 of the 11,760 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 20.6%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.How much does Lancaster SD spend on teacher salaries?
$72,230,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), or $7,169 per student. Divided by the 838 full-time teachers in the NCES Common Core of Data for 2022-23 that is $86,162 per teacher, more than 63 in 100 Pennsylvania districts (state median $81,309). That is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, and the result can differ widely from the average salary a district publishes. The district's salary schedule gives pay. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Pennsylvania teacher salary at $72,248 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).How do students in Lancaster SD do on state tests?
In 2021-22, the students tested in Lancaster SD scored proficient or above: 28% in reading and 13% in math, against 54% in reading and 34% in math across Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.What is the graduation rate in Lancaster SD?
76% of the 777 students in Lancaster SD's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 87.5% across Pennsylvania. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23.What is Lancaster SD's NCES district ID?
4213140. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23: the class of 2023 for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 211.60 (2021-22): the state's average teacher salary, from the National Education Association. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25