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Salinas, California - 12 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks Salinas Union High #534 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,795 per pupil, Salinas Union High ranks #1011 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
16,337
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$14,795
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Salinas Union High operates 12 public schools serving 16,337 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 high, 4 middle, 2 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Monterey County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,795 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 23.3% local, 65.8% state, and 11.0% 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 58/100, ranked #534 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 12 schools offering Advanced Placement (66 AP courses district-wide), a 208.1:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 31.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.6% Hispanic or Latino, 3.8% White, 2.1% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Salinas High, with a diversity index of 39.1/100.
Its largest campus is Alisal High, enrolling 2,742 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Carr Lake Community Day, at 18 students, a 152x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Alisal High accounts for 16.8% of all Salinas Union High student enrollment
That concentration means Salinas Union High-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.
Salinas Union High school enrollment varies 152× across entities
Salinas Union High school enrollment ranges from 18 students (lowest) to 2,742 students (highest), a spread of 2,724 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.
Salinas Union High has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 75.8% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
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 — including this one — 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.
Salinas Union High student-counselor ratio is 208:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Salinas Union High chronic absenteeism rate is 31.0% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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.
Salinas Union High has 12 schools, including 6 high, 4 middle, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 16,337 students.
How much does Salinas Union High spend per student?
Salinas Union High spends $14,795 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #534 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Salinas Union High?
Salinas Union High students are 92.6% Hispanic or Latino, 3.8% White, 2.1% Asian, 0.4% African American, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Salinas Union High?
Salinas Union High has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #534 out of 1517 districts in California.