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Lowell, Massachusetts - 27 schools
An equity score of 49/100 ranks Lowell #73 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,674 per pupil, Lowell ranks #265 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
14,228
Total Enrollment
27
Schools
$19,674
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lowell operates 27 public schools serving 14,228 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 16 combined, 8 elementary, 3 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Middlesex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,674 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 5.6% local, 80.4% state, and 14.0% 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 49/100, ranked #73 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 27 schools offering Advanced Placement (37 AP courses district-wide), a 434.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 37.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 42.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 21.7% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Cardinal O'connell Early Learning Center, with a diversity index of 75.4/100.
Its largest campus is Lowell High, enrolling 3,446 students (24% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Laura Lee Therapeutic Day School, at 15 students, a 230x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lowell High accounts for 23.8% of all Lowell student enrollment
That concentration means Lowell-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.
Lowell school enrollment varies 230× across entities
Lowell school enrollment ranges from 15 students (lowest) to 3,446 students (highest), a spread of 3,431 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.
Lowell student-counselor ratio is 434:1 — 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.
Lowell chronic absenteeism rate is 37.5% — 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.