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.
Ocala, Florida - 61 schools
An equity score of 42/100 ranks Marion #46 of 67 districts in Florida (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,818 per pupil, Marion ranks #39 of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending (Florida districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Marion operates 61 public schools serving 44,493 students, placing it among the larger districts in Florida. The school portfolio breaks down into 41 combined, 9 middle, 7 high, 4 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a sizeable 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 Marion County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,818 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending. See how Florida compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 35.3% local, 43.3% state, and 21.4% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 42/100, ranked #46 of 67 in Florida against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 61 schools offering Advanced Placement (63 AP courses district-wide), a 508.1:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 39.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 41.9% White, 29.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Dr N H Jones Elementary School, with a diversity index of 74.6/100.
Its largest campus is West Port High School, enrolling 3,022 students (7% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mcso Adults, at 10 students, a 302x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Marion school enrollment ranges from 10 students (lowest) to 3,022 students (highest), a spread of 3,012 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 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 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 61 schools in Marion.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Marion's schools, above the Florida average of 52.3.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Florida districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarasota | Similar size | Higher spending | More locally funded |
| St. Lucie | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Lake | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Collier | Similar size | Higher spending | More locally funded |
| Clay | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Marion'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 Miami-Dade →Marion has 61 schools, including 7 high, 9 middle, 41 combined, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 44,493 students.
Marion spends $10,818 per student. The district has an equity score of 42/100, ranking #46 in Florida.
Marion students are 41.9% White, 29.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% African American, 1.4% Asian, averaged across 61 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Marion has an equity score of 42/100, ranking #46 out of 67 districts in Florida.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.