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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Melrose, Massachusetts - 8 schools
An equity score of 15/100 ranks Melrose #349 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,829 per pupil, Melrose ranks #383 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Melrose operates 8 public schools serving 3,895 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 1 high, 1 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 Middlesex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,829 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 40 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 64.2% local, 28.0% state, and 7.8% 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 15/100, ranked #349 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (24 AP courses district-wide), a 359.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 15.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 74.6% White, 7.4% Asian, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lincoln, with a diversity index of 59.9/100.
Its largest campus is Melrose High, enrolling 967 students (25% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Early Childhood Center, at 246 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
That concentration means Melrose-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: high. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Melrose school enrollment ranges from 246 students (lowest) to 967 students (highest), a spread of 721 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. 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
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.
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 Melrose is typically wider than the Melrose-aggregate figure suggests.
This district scores below average on funding equity. High reliance on local revenue or lower spending may contribute.
Average demographic composition across 8 schools in Melrose.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Melrose's schools, below the Massachusetts average of 47.3.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Melrose High | 967 |
| Melrose Middle | 886 |
| Roosevelt | 406 |
| Lincoln | 404 |
| Winthrop | 392 |
| Herbert Clark Hoover | 260 |
| Horace Mann | 254 |
| Early Childhood Center | 246 |
The Massachusetts districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Springfield | Similar size | Higher spending | Less locally funded |
| Reading | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| Westborough | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| North Attleborough | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Hingham | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Melrose'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.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Boston →Melrose has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 5 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 3,895 students.
Melrose spends $16,829 per student. The district has an equity score of 15/100, ranking #349 in Massachusetts.
Melrose students are 74.6% White, 7.4% Asian, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 4.8% African American, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Melrose has an equity score of 15/100, ranking #349 out of 362 districts in Massachusetts.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.