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.
Long Beach, California - 82 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Long Beach Unified #717 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,028 per pupil, Long Beach Unified ranks #721 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Long Beach Unified operates 82 public schools serving 65,554 students, placing it among the largest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 53 elementary, 15 middle, 13 high, 1 combined schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio 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 Los Angeles County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,028 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 24.5% local, 60.1% state, and 15.4% 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 51/100, ranked #717 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 12 of 82 schools offering Advanced Placement (191 AP courses district-wide), a 278.4:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 41.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 58.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% African American, 11.8% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Los Cerritos Elementary, with a diversity index of 76.0/100.
Its largest campus is Polytechnic High, enrolling 3,890 students (6% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Reid High, at 50 students, a 78x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Long Beach Unified school enrollment ranges from 50 students (lowest) to 3,890 students (highest), a spread of 3,840 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data
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.
Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system
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 Long Beach Unified is typically wider than the Long Beach Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection
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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 82 schools in Long Beach Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Long Beach Unified's schools, above the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Fresno Unified | Similar size | Higher spending | Less locally funded |
| Corona-Norco Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| San Francisco Unified | Smaller | Higher spending | More locally funded |
| San Bernardino City Unified | Smaller | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Long Beach Unified's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Los Angeles Unified →Long Beach Unified has 82 schools, including 13 high, 15 middle, 53 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 65,554 students.
Long Beach Unified spends $16,028 per student. The district has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #717 in California.
Long Beach Unified students are 58.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% African American, 11.8% White, 10.0% Asian, averaged across 82 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Long Beach Unified has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #717 out of 1517 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.