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Pelham, Alabama - 4 schools
An equity score of 30/100 ranks Pelham City #124 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,678 per pupil, Pelham City ranks #89 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,425
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,678
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pelham City operates 4 public schools serving 3,425 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 1 high, 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 Shelby County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,678 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 47.0% local, 42.6% state, and 10.4% 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 30/100, ranked #124 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (13 AP courses district-wide), a 577.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 42.1% White, 29.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pelham Ridge, with a diversity index of 70.6/100.
Its largest campus is Pelham High School, enrolling 1,076 students (31% of the district's total enrollment).
Pelham High School accounts for 31.2% of all Pelham City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Pelham City-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.
Pelham City student-counselor ratio is 577:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Pelham City chronic absenteeism rate is 14.6% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Pelham City has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 3,425 students.
How much does Pelham City spend per student?
Pelham City spends $11,678 per student. The district has an equity score of 30/100, ranking #124 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Pelham City?
Pelham City students are 42.1% White, 29.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% African American, 2.4% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pelham City?
Pelham City has an equity score of 30/100, ranking #124 out of 146 districts in Alabama.