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.
St Louis, Missouri - 64 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks St. Louis City #154 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,843 per pupil, St. Louis City ranks #46 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
St. Louis City operates 64 public schools serving 18,321 students, placing it among the larger districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 43 combined, 11 high, 8 middle, 2 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a sizeable portfolio 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 St. Louis City.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,843 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 55 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 78.0% local, 5.8% state, and 16.2% 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 58/100, ranked #154 of 432 in Missouri 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 11 of 64 schools offering Advanced Placement (71 AP courses district-wide), a 270.8:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 47.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.3% African American, 10.1% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mann Elem., with a diversity index of 71.6/100.
Its largest campus is Gateway High, enrolling 860 students (5% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is St. Louis Children's Hospital, at 2 students, a 430x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
St. Louis City school enrollment ranges from 2 students (lowest) to 860 students (highest), a spread of 858 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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 Variation between sub-units within St. Louis City is typically wider than the St. Louis City-aggregate figure suggests.
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 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 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 64 schools in St. Louis City.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across St. Louis City's schools, below the Missouri average of 31.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Missouri districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wentzville R-Iv | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Columbia 93 | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Lee's Summit R-Vii | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Parkway C-2 | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Francis Howell R-Iii | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to St. Louis City'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 Springfield R-Xii →St. Louis City has 64 schools, including 11 high, 43 combined, 8 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 18,321 students.
St. Louis City spends $17,843 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #154 in Missouri.
St. Louis City students are 78.3% African American, 10.1% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 2.5% Asian, averaged across 64 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
St. Louis City has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #154 out of 432 districts in Missouri.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.