Orange County Department of Education

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.

Costa Mesa, California - 5 schools

2,323
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
-
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.

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.

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.

Its largest campus is Access County Community, enrolling 1,315 students (57% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is College and Career Preparatory Academy, at 168 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.

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 largest entity. Grade band: combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Orange County Department of Education reports 68.3% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. 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

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.

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection

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.

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22

Where does the funding come from?

10.3%
Federal
29.5%
State
60.2%
Local

Student Demographics

Average demographic composition across 5 schools in Orange County Department of Education.

White 15.2%
Hispanic or Latino 68.6%
African American 3.5%
Asian 6.8%
Multiracial 4.7%
Other 1.3%

Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.

Student-body diversity

Average diversity index 45.9/100

Average Simpson diversity index across Orange County Department of Education's schools, about the same as the California average of 46.0.

Most mixed schools

  1. 1 Occs:Chep/Pchs 65.8
  2. 2 Orange County Special Education 65.6
  3. 3 Access Juvenile Hall 39.3
  4. 4 Access County Community 36.1
  5. 5 College and Career Preparatory Academy 22.8

Programs & Resources

281.9:1
Student-Counselor Ratio
49.2%
Chronically Absent

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.

Schools in Orange County Department of Education

School Enrollment
Access County Community
1,315
Orange County Special Education
331
Occs:Chep/Pchs
290
Access Juvenile Hall
186
College and Career Preparatory Academy
Charter
168

How Orange County Department of Education Compares to Similar-Size Districts

The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.

District Enrollment Spending Funding Mix
South Whittier Elementary Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
San Diego Workforce Innovation High District Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
Hilmar Unified Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
Rosemead Elementary Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
Piedmont City Unified Similar size No spending data More locally funded

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.

Los Angeles Unified
427,795 students · 785 schools · $22,606/pupil
Compare vs Orange County Department of Education →
San Diego Unified
93,893 students · 175 schools · $20,783/pupil
Compare vs Orange County Department of Education →
Fresno Unified
69,668 students · 101 schools · $20,909/pupil
Compare vs Orange County Department of Education →
Long Beach Unified
65,554 students · 84 schools · $18,419/pupil
Compare vs Orange County Department of Education →
Elk Grove Unified
62,061 students · 67 schools · $15,921/pupil
Compare vs Orange County Department of Education →

Nationwide districts with similar enrollment or spending

Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.

Compare Orange County Department of Education

See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.

Compare vs Los Angeles Unified →

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.