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Pacific Grove, California - 5 schools
An equity score of 68/100 ranks Pacific Grove Unified #313 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $23,215 per pupil, Pacific Grove Unified ranks #140 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,772
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$23,215
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pacific Grove Unified operates 5 public schools serving 1,772 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 high, 2 elementary, 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 Monterey County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $23,215 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 76.9% local, 18.1% state, and 5.1% 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 68/100, ranked #313 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 157.2:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 35.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 50.0% White, 22.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Community High (Continuation), with a diversity index of 75.1/100.
Its largest campus is Pacific Grove High, enrolling 552 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Community High (Continuation), at 12 students, a 46x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pacific Grove High accounts for 31.2% of all Pacific Grove Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Pacific Grove Unified-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.
Pacific Grove Unified school enrollment varies 46× across entities
Pacific Grove Unified school enrollment ranges from 12 students (lowest) to 552 students (highest), a spread of 540 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Pacific Grove Unified student-counselor ratio is 157:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Pacific Grove Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 35.2% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Pacific Grove Unified has 5 schools, including 2 high, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,772 students.
How much does Pacific Grove Unified spend per student?
Pacific Grove Unified spends $23,215 per student. The district has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #313 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Pacific Grove Unified?
Pacific Grove Unified students are 50.0% White, 22.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 1.4% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pacific Grove Unified?
Pacific Grove Unified has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #313 out of 1517 districts in California.