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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Palm Springs, California - 28 schools
An equity score of 68/100 ranks Palm Springs Unified #307 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,520 per pupil, Palm Springs Unified ranks #456 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Palm Springs Unified operates 28 public schools serving 21,032 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 17 elementary, 5 high, 5 middle, 1 combined schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Riverside County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,520 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 36.1% local, 54.5% state, and 9.5% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 68/100, ranked #307 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 5 of 28 schools offering Advanced Placement (57 AP courses district-wide), a 405:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 35.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% White, 4.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Katherine Finchy Elementary, with a diversity index of 52.9/100.
Its largest campus is Desert Hot Springs High, enrolling 1,687 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Virtual Pre, at 3 students, a 562x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Palm Springs Unified school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 1,687 students (highest), a spread of 1,684 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. 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 NCES Common Core of Data
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 a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. 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.
Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system
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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection
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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 28 schools in Palm Springs Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Palm Springs Unified's schools, below the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Desert Hot Springs High | 1,687 |
| Palm Springs High | 1,497 |
| Rancho Mirage High | 1,401 |
| Cathedral City High | 1,334 |
| James Workman Middle | 1,020 |
| Nellie N. Coffman Middle | 914 |
| Cielo Vista Charter Charter | 824 |
| Bella Vista Elementary | 779 |
| Desert Springs Middle | 749 |
| Painted Hills Middle | 722 |
| Raymond Cree Middle | 721 |
| Two Bunch Palms Elementary | 717 |
| Sunny Sands Elementary | 692 |
| Cabot Yerxa Elementary | 664 |
| Agua Caliente Elementary | 645 |
| Rio Vista Elementary | 637 |
| Cathedral City Elementary | 606 |
| Bubbling Wells Elementary | 581 |
| Landau Elementary | 579 |
| Della S. Lindley Elementary | 552 |
| Katherine Finchy Elementary | 464 |
| Vista Del Monte Elementary | 435 |
| Cahuilla Elementary | 399 |
| Julius Corsini Elementary | 397 |
| Rancho Mirage Elementary | 349 |
| Mt. San Jacinto High | 325 |
| Desert Learning Academy | 317 |
| Virtual Pre | 3 |
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| William S. Hart Union High | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| East Side Union High | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Lake Elsinore Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Pomona Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Fairfield-Suisun Unified | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Palm Springs Unified's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Los Angeles Unified →Palm Springs Unified has 28 schools, including 5 high, 5 middle, 17 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 21,032 students.
Palm Springs Unified spends $17,520 per student. The district has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #307 in California.
Palm Springs Unified students are 81.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% White, 4.0% African American, 2.3% Asian, averaged across 28 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Palm Springs Unified has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #307 out of 1517 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.