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Mercer Island, Washington - 6 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks Mercer Island School District #198 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,431 per pupil, Mercer Island School District ranks #135 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,057
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$17,431
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mercer Island School District operates 6 public schools serving 4,057 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 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 King County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,431 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 37.6% local, 56.3% state, and 6.2% 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 29/100, ranked #198 of 238 in Washington against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (29 AP courses district-wide), a 308.9:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 5.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 47.6% White, 28.2% Asian, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is West Mercer Elementary, with a diversity index of 69.0/100.
Its largest campus is Mercer Island High School, enrolling 1,439 students (36% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Island Park Elementary, at 364 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Mercer Island High School accounts for 35.5% of all Mercer Island School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Mercer Island School District-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 Island School District school enrollment varies 4.0× across entities
Mercer Island School District school enrollment ranges from 364 students (lowest) to 1,439 students (highest), a spread of 1,075 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 Island School District student-counselor ratio is 309:1 — 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 Island School District is typically wider than the Mercer Island School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Mercer Island School District chronic absenteeism rate is 5.4% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Comparisons are relative to Mercer Island School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Washington
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Mercer Island School District?
Mercer Island School District has 6 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 3 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 4,057 students.
How much does Mercer Island School District spend per student?
Mercer Island School District spends $17,431 per student. The district has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #198 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Mercer Island School District?
Mercer Island School District students are 47.6% White, 28.2% Asian, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Mercer Island School District?
Mercer Island School District has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #198 out of 238 districts in Washington.