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Joy, Illinois - 5 schools
An equity score of 30/100 ranks Mercer County School District 404 #554 of 763 districts in Illinois (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,924 per pupil, Mercer County School District 404 ranks #607 of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending (Illinois districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,294
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$13,924
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mercer County School District 404 operates 5 public schools serving 1,294 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Illinois. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Mercer County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,924 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending. See how Illinois compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 53.6% local, 38.0% state, and 8.3% 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 30/100, ranked #554 of 763 in Illinois 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 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (12 AP courses district-wide), a 347.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.5% White, 2.1% African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mercer County Jr High School, with a diversity index of 21.2/100.
Its largest campus is Mercer County High School, enrolling 411 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mercer County Elc, at 66 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Mercer County High School accounts for 31.8% of all Mercer County School District 404 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Mercer County School District 404-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.
Mercer County School District 404 school enrollment varies 6.2× across entities
Mercer County School District 404 school enrollment ranges from 66 students (lowest) to 411 students (highest), a spread of 345 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.
Mercer County School District 404 student-counselor ratio is 348:1 — 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 Mercer County School District 404 is typically wider than the Mercer County School District 404-aggregate figure suggests.
Mercer County School District 404 chronic absenteeism rate is 30.6% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Mercer County School District 404's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Illinois
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Mercer County School District 404?
Mercer County School District 404 has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 1,294 students.
How much does Mercer County School District 404 spend per student?
Mercer County School District 404 spends $13,924 per student. The district has an equity score of 30/100, ranking #554 in Illinois.
What is the demographic composition of Mercer County School District 404?
Mercer County School District 404 students are 91.5% White, 2.1% African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Mercer County School District 404?
Mercer County School District 404 has an equity score of 30/100, ranking #554 out of 763 districts in Illinois.