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National City, California - 10 schools
An equity score of 75/100 ranks National Elementary #160 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,648 per pupil, National Elementary ranks #326 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,344
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$18,648
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
National Elementary operates 10 public schools serving 4,344 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 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 San Diego County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,648 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 20.9% local, 64.8% state, and 14.3% 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 75/100, ranked #160 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.
a 393.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 59.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 82.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 1.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ira Harbison, with a diversity index of 53.2/100.
Its largest campus is Central Elementary, enrolling 477 students (12% of the district's total enrollment).
National Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 69.8% 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.
National Elementary student-counselor ratio is 393:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
National Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 59.3% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
National Elementary has 10 schools, including 10 elementary. Total enrollment is 4,344 students.
How much does National Elementary spend per student?
National Elementary spends $18,648 per student. The district has an equity score of 75/100, ranking #160 in California.
What is the demographic composition of National Elementary?
National Elementary students are 82.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 1.5% African American, 1.4% White, averaged across 10 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for National Elementary?
National Elementary has an equity score of 75/100, ranking #160 out of 1517 districts in California.