An equity score of 44/100 ranks St. Joseph #259 of 433 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,067 per pupil, St. Joseph ranks #346 of 552 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
10,568
Total Enrollment
22
Schools
$12,067
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
St. Joseph operates 22 public schools serving 10,568 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 elementary, 5 combined, 4 middle, 3 high 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 Buchanan County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,067 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 552 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 50.8% local, 30.4% state, and 18.8% 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 44/100, ranked #259 of 433 in Missouri 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 3 of 22 schools offering Advanced Placement (23 AP courses district-wide), a 357.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 25.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 62.2% White, 13.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Coleman Elem., with a diversity index of 68.9/100.
Its largest campus is Central High, enrolling 1,733 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Virtual Academy, at 13 students, a 133x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Central High accounts for 16.4% of all St. Joseph student enrollment
That concentration means St. Joseph-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: high. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
St. Joseph school enrollment varies 133× across entities
St. Joseph school enrollment ranges from 13 students (lowest) to 1,733 students (highest), a spread of 1,720 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.
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.
St. Joseph student-counselor ratio is 357:1 — 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.
St. Joseph chronic absenteeism rate is 25.1% — 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 St. Joseph is typically wider than the St. Joseph-aggregate figure suggests.
St. Joseph has 22 schools, including 3 high, 10 elementary, 5 combined, 4 middle. Total enrollment is 10,568 students.
How much does St. Joseph spend per student?
St. Joseph spends $12,067 per student. The district has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #259 in Missouri.
What is the demographic composition of St. Joseph?
St. Joseph students are 62.2% White, 13.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% African American, 1.8% Asian, averaged across 22 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for St. Joseph?
St. Joseph has an equity score of 44/100, ranking #259 out of 433 districts in Missouri.