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Costa Mesa, California - 5 schools
An equity score of 74/100 ranks Orange County Department of Education #176 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $90,934 per pupil, Orange County Department of Education ranks #5 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,323
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$90,934
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Orange County Department of Education operates 5 public schools serving 2,323 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 1 high 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 Orange County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $90,934 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 187 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 60.2% local, 29.5% state, and 10.3% 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 74/100, ranked #176 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 281.9:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 49.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% White, 6.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Occs:Chep/Pchs, with a diversity index of 65.8/100.
Access County Community accounts for 56.6% of all Orange County Department of Education student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Orange County Department of Education a distant remainder — means Orange County Department of Education-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.
Orange County Department of Education school enrollment varies 7.8× across entities
Orange County Department of Education school enrollment ranges from 168 students (lowest) to 1,315 students (highest), a spread of 1,147 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.
Orange County Department of Education has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 67.1% 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.
Orange County Department of Education student-counselor ratio is 282:1 — 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 Orange County Department of Education is typically wider than the Orange County Department of Education-aggregate figure suggests.
Orange County Department of Education chronic absenteeism rate is 49.2% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Orange County Department of Education's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in California
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Orange County Department of Education?
Orange County Department of Education has 5 schools, including 4 combined, 1 high. Total enrollment is 2,323 students.
How much does Orange County Department of Education spend per student?
Orange County Department of Education spends $90,934 per student. The district has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #176 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Orange County Department of Education?
Orange County Department of Education students are 68.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% White, 6.8% Asian, 3.5% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Orange County Department of Education?
Orange County Department of Education has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #176 out of 1517 districts in California.