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Monterey, California - 19 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks Monterey Peninsula Unified #535 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,404 per pupil, Monterey Peninsula Unified ranks #653 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,257
Total Enrollment
19
Schools
$16,404
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Monterey Peninsula Unified operates 19 public schools serving 9,257 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 elementary, 5 high, 4 middle 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 Monterey County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,404 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 46.8% local, 40.7% state, and 12.5% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 58/100, ranked #535 of 1517 in California 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 3 of 19 schools offering Advanced Placement (23 AP courses district-wide), a 278.4:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 29.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 66.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% White, 6.5% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is George C. Marshall Elementary, with a diversity index of 73.5/100.
Its largest campus is Monterey High, enrolling 1,401 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Monterey Peninsula Unf Sch Dist Com Day Mid, at 3 students, a 467x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Monterey Peninsula Unified school enrollment varies 467× across entities
Monterey Peninsula Unified school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 1,401 students (highest), a spread of 1,398 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Monterey Peninsula Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 64.3% 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 approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Monterey Peninsula Unified student-counselor ratio is 278:1 — 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 Monterey Peninsula Unified is typically wider than the Monterey Peninsula Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Monterey Peninsula Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 29.5% — 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 Monterey Peninsula Unified is typically wider than the Monterey Peninsula Unified-aggregate figure suggests.