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Rapid City, South Dakota - 27 schools
An equity score of 40/100 ranks Rapid City Area School District 51-4 #76 of 121 districts in South Dakota (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,191 per pupil, Rapid City Area School District 51-4 ranks #104 of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (South Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
12,747
Total Enrollment
27
Schools
$11,191
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 operates 27 public schools serving 12,747 students, placing it in the mid-size range in South Dakota. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 elementary, 6 combined, 5 high, 5 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 Pennington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,191 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Dakota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 54.3% local, 26.7% state, and 18.9% 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 40/100, ranked #76 of 121 in South Dakota 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 2 of 27 schools offering Advanced Placement (14 AP courses district-wide), a 499.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 28.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 54.8% White, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Horace Mann Elementary - 07, with a diversity index of 71.8/100.
Its largest campus is Central High School - 41, enrolling 1,998 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Wellfully - 65, at 7 students, a 285x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Central High School - 41 accounts for 15.4% of all Rapid City Area School District 51-4 student enrollment
That concentration means Rapid City Area School District 51-4-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.
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 school enrollment varies 285× across entities
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 school enrollment ranges from 7 students (lowest) to 1,998 students (highest), a spread of 1,991 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.
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 student-counselor ratio is 500:1 — 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.
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 chronic absenteeism rate is 28.0% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is typically wider than the Rapid City Area School District 51-4-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Rapid City Area School District 51-4's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in South Dakota
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Rapid City Area School District 51-4?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 has 27 schools, including 5 high, 5 middle, 11 elementary, 6 combined. Total enrollment is 12,747 students.
How much does Rapid City Area School District 51-4 spend per student?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 spends $11,191 per student. The district has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #76 in South Dakota.
What is the demographic composition of Rapid City Area School District 51-4?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 students are 54.8% White, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 27 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Rapid City Area School District 51-4?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #76 out of 121 districts in South Dakota.