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.
Madera, California - 28 schools
An equity score of 71/100 ranks Madera Unified #234 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,587 per pupil, Madera Unified ranks #837 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Madera Unified operates 28 public schools serving 20,151 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 18 elementary, 5 high, 3 middle, 2 combined 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 Madera County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,587 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 13.4% local, 70.9% state, and 15.7% 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 71/100, ranked #234 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 28 schools offering Advanced Placement (23 AP courses district-wide), a 445.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 52.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.0% White, 1.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lincoln Elementary, with a diversity index of 38.0/100.
Its largest campus is Matilda Torres High, enrolling 2,017 students (10% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Madera Unified Adult Transition Program, at 15 students, a 134x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Madera Unified school enrollment ranges from 15 students (lowest) to 2,017 students (highest), a spread of 2,002 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 — including this one — 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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
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 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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22
This district scores well on funding equity, with balanced funding sources and good resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 28 schools in Madera Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Madera Unified's schools, below the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Matilda Torres High | 2,017 |
| Madera High | 1,869 |
| Madera South High | 1,859 |
| Thomas Jefferson Middle | 948 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Middle | 865 |
| Jack G. Desmond Middle | 838 |
| Lincoln Elementary | 816 |
| John J. Pershing Elementary | 788 |
| Sierra Vista Elementary | 740 |
| James Madison Elementary | 739 |
| John Adams Elementary | 736 |
| Alpha Elementary | 735 |
| Virginia Lee Rose Elementary | 714 |
| Berenda Elementary | 709 |
| Nishimoto Elementary | 704 |
| Cesar Chavez Elementary | 659 |
| Parkwood Elementary | 635 |
| James Monroe Elementary | 624 |
| Millview Elementary | 594 |
| George Washington Elementary | 578 |
| Howard Elementary | 487 |
| Duane E. Furman Independent Study | 348 |
| Dixieland Elementary | 266 |
| Eastin Arcola Elementary | 225 |
| La Vina Elementary | 203 |
| Mountain Vista High | 162 |
| Ripperdan Community Day | 49 |
| Madera Unified Adult Transition Program | 15 |
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montebello Unified | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| Redlands Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Folsom-Cordova Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Fairfield-Suisun Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| San Marcos Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Madera 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 →Madera Unified has 28 schools, including 5 high, 3 middle, 18 elementary, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 20,151 students.
Madera Unified spends $15,587 per student. The district has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #234 in California.
Madera Unified students are 91.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.0% White, 1.3% African American, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 28 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Madera Unified has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #234 out of 1517 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.