An equity score of 37/100 ranks Methuen #188 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,940 per pupil, Methuen ranks #361 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,584
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$17,940
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Methuen operates 5 public schools serving 6,584 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 1 high 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 Essex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,940 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 31.8% local, 54.6% state, and 13.6% 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 37/100, ranked #188 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (15 AP courses district-wide), a 163.4:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 34.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 53.7% Hispanic or Latino, 33.2% White, 7.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Comprehensive Grammar School, with a diversity index of 62.5/100.
Its largest campus is Methuen High, enrolling 1,841 students (29% of the district's total enrollment).
Methuen High accounts for 28.0% of all Methuen student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Methuen-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.
Methuen student-counselor ratio is 163:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Methuen chronic absenteeism rate is 34.0% — 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.