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New Buffalo, Michigan - 3 schools
An equity score of 75/100 ranks New Buffalo Area Schools #48 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $29,076 per pupil, New Buffalo Area Schools ranks #14 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
536
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$29,076
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
New Buffalo Area Schools operates 3 public schools serving 536 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Berrien County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $29,076 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 83 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 82.7% local, 11.1% state, and 6.3% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 75/100, ranked #48 of 707 in Michigan 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 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 191.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 21.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.6% White, 13.8% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is New Buffalo Senior High School, with a diversity index of 43.5/100.
Its largest campus is New Buffalo Elementary School, enrolling 211 students (41% of the district's total enrollment).
New Buffalo Elementary School accounts for 39.4% of all New Buffalo Area Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means New Buffalo Area Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
New Buffalo Area Schools student-counselor ratio is 192:1 — 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.
New Buffalo Area Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 21.0% — 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 New Buffalo Area Schools is typically wider than the New Buffalo Area Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
New Buffalo Area Schools has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 536 students.
How much does New Buffalo Area Schools spend per student?
New Buffalo Area Schools spends $29,076 per student. The district has an equity score of 75/100, ranking #48 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of New Buffalo Area Schools?
New Buffalo Area Schools students are 78.6% White, 13.8% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American, 1.5% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for New Buffalo Area Schools?
New Buffalo Area Schools has an equity score of 75/100, ranking #48 out of 707 districts in Michigan.