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.
Pasadena, California - 23 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks Pasadena Unified #548 of 1526 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $21,332 per pupil, Pasadena Unified ranks #339 of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Pasadena Unified operates 23 public schools serving 14,152 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 14 elementary, 3 combined, 3 high, 3 middle 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 Los Angeles County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,332 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 45.4% local, 40.3% state, and 14.3% 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 58/100, ranked #548 of 1526 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 4 of 23 schools offering Advanced Placement (47 AP courses district-wide), a 363.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 39.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 58.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% White, 9.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sierra Madre Middle, with a diversity index of 74.3/100.
Its largest campus is Marshall Fundamental, enrolling 1,689 students (12% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Rose City High (Continuation), at 113 students, a 15x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pasadena Unified school enrollment ranges from 113 students (lowest) to 1,689 students (highest), a spread of 1,576 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. 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
The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. 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
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.
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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 23 schools in Pasadena Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Pasadena Unified's schools, above the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Marshall Fundamental | 1,689 |
| Pasadena High | 1,303 |
| John Muir High | 1,206 |
| Blair High | 1,053 |
| Jackson Elementary | 658 |
| Sierra Madre Elementary | 652 |
| Sierra Madre Middle | 597 |
| Longfellow (Henry W.) Elementary | 546 |
| Mckinley | 538 |
| Altadena Elementary | 527 |
| Hamilton Elementary | 510 |
| Octavia E. Butler Magnet | 481 |
| Field (Eugene) Elementary | 449 |
| Washington Elementary | 428 |
| San Rafael Elementary | 412 |
| Madison Elementary | 411 |
| Charles W. Eliot Middle | 407 |
| Willard Elementary | 394 |
| Don Benito Fundamental | 384 |
| Norma Coombs Elementary | 370 |
| Webster Elementary | 277 |
| Cis Academy | 234 |
| Rose City High (Continuation) | 113 |
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxnard | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Porterville Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Modesto City Elementary | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
| Lancaster Elementary | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Escondido Union | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Pasadena 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.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Los Angeles Unified →Pasadena Unified has 23 schools, including 3 combined, 3 high, 14 elementary, 3 middle. Total enrollment is 14,152 students.
Pasadena Unified spends $21,332 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #548 in California.
Pasadena Unified students are 58.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% White, 9.4% African American, 8.0% Asian, averaged across 23 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Pasadena Unified has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #548 out of 1526 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.