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.
Riverside, California - 48 schools
An equity score of 47/100 ranks Riverside Unified #833 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,545 per pupil, Riverside Unified ranks #1081 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Riverside Unified operates 48 public schools serving 39,425 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 29 elementary, 7 high, 7 middle, 5 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 $14,545 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 24.1% local, 64.5% state, and 11.4% 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 47/100, ranked #833 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 8 of 48 schools offering Advanced Placement (108 AP courses district-wide), a 924.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 70.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% White, 5.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Benjamin Franklin Elementary, with a diversity index of 69.8/100.
Its largest campus is Martin Luther King Jr. High, enrolling 2,699 students (7% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Opportunity Program, at 33 students, a 82x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Riverside Unified school enrollment ranges from 33 students (lowest) to 2,699 students (highest), a spread of 2,666 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). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants 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 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.
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 48 schools in Riverside Unified.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Riverside Unified's schools, about the same as the California average of 46.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The California districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ana Unified | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| Sacramento City Unified | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| Garden Grove Unified | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| San Juan Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Capistrano Unified | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Riverside 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 →Riverside Unified has 48 schools, including 7 high, 29 elementary, 7 middle, 5 combined. Total enrollment is 39,425 students.
Riverside Unified spends $14,545 per student. The district has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #833 in California.
Riverside Unified students are 70.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% White, 5.4% African American, 4.7% Asian, averaged across 48 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Riverside Unified has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #833 out of 1517 districts in California.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.