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.
Rutherford, New Jersey - 5 schools
An equity score of 10/100 ranks Rutherford School District #579 of 587 districts in New Jersey (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,539 per pupil, Rutherford School District ranks #619 of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending (New Jersey districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,568
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$18,539
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Rutherford School District operates 5 public schools serving 2,568 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New Jersey. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 combined, 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 Bergen County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,539 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 65 of 649 New Jersey districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Jersey compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 83.9% local, 14.1% state, and 2.0% 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 10/100, ranked #579 of 587 in New Jersey 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 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (17 AP courses district-wide), a 362.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 3.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 50.3% White, 25.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Washington School, with a diversity index of 70.0/100.
Its largest campus is Rutherford High School, enrolling 727 students (29% of the district's total enrollment).
Rutherford High School accounts for 28.3% of all Rutherford School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Rutherford School District-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.
Rutherford School District school enrollment varies 2.1× across entities
Rutherford School District school enrollment ranges from 349 students (lowest) to 727 students (highest), a spread of 378 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.
Rutherford School District student-counselor ratio is 362:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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.
Rutherford School District chronic absenteeism rate is 3.6% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
How many schools are in Rutherford School District?
Rutherford School District has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 1 combined, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 2,568 students.
How much does Rutherford School District spend per student?
Rutherford School District spends $18,539 per student. The district has an equity score of 10/100, ranking #579 in New Jersey.
What is the demographic composition of Rutherford School District?
Rutherford School District students are 50.3% White, 25.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 2.2% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Rutherford School District?
Rutherford School District has an equity score of 10/100, ranking #579 out of 587 districts in New Jersey.