Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Monterey, California - 19 schools
An equity score of 52/100 ranks Monterey Peninsula Unified #707 of 1526 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,464 per pupil, Monterey Peninsula Unified ranks #919 of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
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 $17,464 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1880 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 52/100, ranked #707 of 1526 in California 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 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 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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.
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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 19 schools in Monterey Peninsula Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Monterey Peninsula Unified's schools, about the same as the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Monterey High | 1,401 |
| Seaside High | 1,073 |
| Marina High | 721 |
| La Mesa | 689 |
| Monte Vista | 688 |
| J. C. Crumpton Elementary | 562 |
| Martin Luther King | 548 |
| Seaside Middle | 521 |
| George C. Marshall Elementary | 516 |
| Marina Vista Elementary | 466 |
| Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula | 410 |
| Ione Olson Elementary | 409 |
| Los Arboles Middle | 408 |
| Ord Terrace Elementary | 397 |
| Del Rey Woods Elementary | 390 |
| Walter Colton | 129 |
| Central Coast High | 103 |
| Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Community Day | 3 |
| Monterey Peninsula Unf Sch Dist Com Day Mid | 3 |
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria Joint Union High | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Castro Valley Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Greenfield Union | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Tulare City | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Saugus Union | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Monterey Peninsula Unified's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Los Angeles Unified →Monterey Peninsula Unified has 19 schools, including 5 high, 10 elementary, 4 middle. Total enrollment is 9,257 students.
Monterey Peninsula Unified spends $17,464 per student. The district has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #707 in California.
Monterey Peninsula Unified students are 66.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% White, 6.5% Asian, 3.7% African American, averaged across 19 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Monterey Peninsula Unified has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #707 out of 1526 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.