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Opelika, Alabama - 8 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Opelika City #109 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,407 per pupil, Opelika City ranks #111 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,048
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$11,407
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Opelika City operates 8 public schools serving 5,048 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 elementary, 1 high, 1 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 Lee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,407 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 37.5% local, 46.5% state, and 16.1% 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 37/100, ranked #109 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 410.1:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.8% African American, 27.1% White, 19.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Southview Primary School, with a diversity index of 66.4/100.
Its largest campus is Opelika High School, enrolling 1,590 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is West Forest Intermediate School, at 393 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Opelika High School accounts for 31.5% of all Opelika City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Opelika City-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Opelika City school enrollment varies 4.0× across entities
Opelika City school enrollment ranges from 393 students (lowest) to 1,590 students (highest), a spread of 1,197 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Opelika City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 69.2% 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.
Opelika City student-counselor ratio is 410:1 — 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.
Opelika City chronic absenteeism rate is 20.5% — 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 Opelika City is typically wider than the Opelika City-aggregate figure suggests.
Opelika City has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 6 elementary. Total enrollment is 5,048 students.
How much does Opelika City spend per student?
Opelika City spends $11,407 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #109 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Opelika City?
Opelika City students are 48.8% African American, 27.1% White, 19.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Opelika City?
Opelika City has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #109 out of 146 districts in Alabama.