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Arroyo Grande, California - 19 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Lucia Mar Unified #1036 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,869 per pupil, Lucia Mar Unified ranks #1236 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,591
Total Enrollment
19
Schools
$13,869
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lucia Mar Unified operates 19 public schools serving 9,591 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 elementary, 4 high, 3 middle, 1 combined 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 San Luis Obispo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,869 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 58.3% local, 30.7% state, and 10.9% 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 39/100, ranked #1036 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 19 schools offering Advanced Placement (35 AP courses district-wide), a 661.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 25.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 51.5% Hispanic or Latino, 39.2% White, 1.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pacific View Academy, with a diversity index of 62.8/100.
Its largest campus is Arroyo Grande High, enrolling 2,012 students (21% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Lopez Continuation High, at 96 students, a 21x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Arroyo Grande High accounts for 21.0% of all Lucia Mar Unified student enrollment
That concentration means Lucia Mar Unified-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.
Lucia Mar Unified school enrollment varies 21× across entities
Lucia Mar Unified school enrollment ranges from 96 students (lowest) to 2,012 students (highest), a spread of 1,916 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Lucia Mar Unified student-counselor ratio is 662:1 — 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.
Lucia Mar Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 25.7% — 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 Lucia Mar Unified is typically wider than the Lucia Mar Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Lucia Mar Unified has 19 schools, including 4 high, 11 elementary, 3 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 9,591 students.
How much does Lucia Mar Unified spend per student?
Lucia Mar Unified spends $13,869 per student. The district has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #1036 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Lucia Mar Unified?
Lucia Mar Unified students are 51.5% Hispanic or Latino, 39.2% White, 1.8% Asian, 0.3% African American, averaged across 19 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lucia Mar Unified?
Lucia Mar Unified has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #1036 out of 1517 districts in California.