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Merrillville, Indiana - 8 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Merrillville Community School Corp #178 of 373 districts in Indiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,764 per pupil, Merrillville Community School Corp ranks #191 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending (Indiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,004
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$11,764
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Merrillville Community School Corp operates 8 public schools serving 6,004 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Indiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary 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 Lake County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,764 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Indiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 34.7% local, 55.4% state, and 9.9% 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 51/100, ranked #178 of 373 in Indiana against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (7 AP courses district-wide), a 497.1:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 63.1% African American, 20.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is John Wood Elementary School, with a diversity index of 67.5/100.
Its largest campus is Merrillville High School, enrolling 2,115 students (36% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is John Wood Elementary School, at 227 students, a 9x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Merrillville High School accounts for 35.2% of all Merrillville Community School Corp student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Merrillville Community School Corp-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.
Merrillville Community School Corp school enrollment varies 9.3× across entities
Merrillville Community School Corp school enrollment ranges from 227 students (lowest) to 2,115 students (highest), a spread of 1,888 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.
Merrillville Community School Corp has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 62.2% 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). 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.
Merrillville Community School Corp student-counselor ratio is 497:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Merrillville Community School Corp chronic absenteeism rate is 29.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Merrillville Community School Corp is typically wider than the Merrillville Community School Corp-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Merrillville Community School Corp's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Indiana
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Merrillville Community School Corp?
Merrillville Community School Corp has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary, 5 combined. Total enrollment is 6,004 students.
How much does Merrillville Community School Corp spend per student?
Merrillville Community School Corp spends $11,764 per student. The district has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #178 in Indiana.
What is the demographic composition of Merrillville Community School Corp?
Merrillville Community School Corp students are 63.1% African American, 20.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% White, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Merrillville Community School Corp?
Merrillville Community School Corp has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #178 out of 373 districts in Indiana.