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Mercedes, Texas - 10 schools
An equity score of 65/100 ranks Mercedes Isd #269 of 1044 districts in Texas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,238 per pupil, Mercedes Isd ranks #368 of 1202 Texas districts by per-pupil spending (Texas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,457
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$14,238
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mercedes Isd operates 10 public schools serving 4,457 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Texas. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 combined, 2 middle, 2 high 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 Hidalgo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,238 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1202 Texas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Texas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 13.0% local, 54.9% state, and 32.1% 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 65/100, ranked #269 of 1044 in Texas 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 2 of 10 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 314.6:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 41.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 98.1% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% White, 0.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sgt William G Harrell Middle, with a diversity index of 6.0/100.
Its largest campus is Mercedes H S, enrolling 903 students (21% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mercedes Academic Academy, at 100 students, a 9x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Mercedes H S accounts for 20.3% of all Mercedes Isd student enrollment
That concentration means Mercedes Isd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Mercedes Isd school enrollment varies 9.0× across entities
Mercedes Isd school enrollment ranges from 100 students (lowest) to 903 students (highest), a spread of 803 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Mercedes Isd has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 90.1% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Mercedes Isd student-counselor ratio is 315:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Mercedes Isd is typically wider than the Mercedes Isd-aggregate figure suggests.
Mercedes Isd chronic absenteeism rate is 41.9% — 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.