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.
Columbia, South Carolina - 32 schools
An equity score of 31/100 ranks Richland 02 #59 of 74 districts in South Carolina (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,024 per pupil, Richland 02 ranks #46 of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (South Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Richland 02 operates 32 public schools serving 28,510 students, placing it in the mid-size range in South Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 19 combined, 5 high, 5 elementary, 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 Richland County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,024 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.0% local, 47.7% state, and 10.3% 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 31/100, ranked #59 of 74 in South Carolina against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 32 schools offering Advanced Placement (85 AP courses district-wide), a 512.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 63.1% African American, 14.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lake Carolina Elementary Lower Campus, with a diversity index of 67.9/100.
Its largest campus is Spring Valley High, enrolling 2,230 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Joseph Keels Elementary, at 465 students, a 5x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Richland 02 school enrollment ranges from 465 students (lowest) to 2,230 students (highest), a spread of 1,765 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. 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 sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. 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 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.
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 Richland 02 is typically wider than the Richland 02-aggregate figure suggests.
This district scores below average on funding equity. High reliance on local revenue or lower spending may contribute.
Average demographic composition across 32 schools in Richland 02.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Richland 02's schools, about the same as the South Carolina average of 52.7.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Spring Valley High | 2,230 |
| Blythewood High | 2,164 |
| Westwood High | 1,743 |
| Ridge View High | 1,631 |
| Richland Northeast High | 1,340 |
| E. L. Wright Middle | 1,275 |
| Muller Road Middle | 1,242 |
| Summit Parkway Middle | 1,229 |
| Dent Middle | 1,059 |
| Kelly Mill Middle | 979 |
| Pontiac Elementary | 880 |
| Blythewood Middle | 872 |
| Longleaf Middle | 796 |
| Rice Creek Elementary | 718 |
| Bethel-Hanberry Elementary | 711 |
| Killian Elementary | 699 |
| Sandlapper Elementary | 671 |
| Polo Road Elementary | 665 |
| North Springs Elementary | 659 |
| Forest Lake Elementary | 652 |
| Catawba Trail Elementary | 636 |
| Langford Elementary | 631 |
| Round Top Elementary | 581 |
| Windsor Elementary | 579 |
| Bridge Creek Elementary | 564 |
| Jackson Creek Elementary | 551 |
| L. B. Nelson Elementary | 541 |
| Bookman Road Elementary | 535 |
| Lake Carolina Elementary Lower Campus | 531 |
| Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus | 523 |
| L. W. Conder Elementary | 489 |
| Joseph Keels Elementary | 465 |
The South Carolina districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Dorchester 02 | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Aiken 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Charter Institute at Erskine | Similar size | Higher spending | Less locally funded |
| Richland 01 | Similar size | Higher spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Richland 02'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 Greenville 01 →Richland 02 has 32 schools, including 5 high, 5 elementary, 3 middle, 19 combined. Total enrollment is 28,510 students.
Richland 02 spends $14,024 per student. The district has an equity score of 31/100, ranking #59 in South Carolina.
Richland 02 students are 63.1% African American, 14.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% White, 2.3% Asian, averaged across 32 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Richland 02 has an equity score of 31/100, ranking #59 out of 74 districts in South Carolina.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.