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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Syracuse, New York - 31 schools
An equity score of 64/100 ranks Syracuse City School District #177 of 931 districts in New York (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $26,097 per pupil, Syracuse City School District ranks #537 of 986 New York districts by per-pupil spending (New York districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Syracuse City School District operates 31 public schools serving 18,398 students, placing it in the mid-size range in New York. The school portfolio breaks down into 19 combined, 6 high, 6 middle 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 Onondaga County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $26,097 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 986 New York districts by per-pupil spending. See how New York compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 11.5% local, 65.7% state, and 22.8% 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 64/100, ranked #177 of 931 in New York against a state average of 45, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 31 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 382.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 65.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 52.1% African American, 17.4% White, 15.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Expeditionary Learning Middle School, with a diversity index of 73.4/100.
Its largest campus is Henninger High School, enrolling 1,483 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Onondaga Cnty Sheriff's Dept, at 19 students, a 78x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Syracuse City School District school enrollment ranges from 19 students (lowest) to 1,483 students (highest), a spread of 1,464 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
The reported share is at least 75%, indicating a high concentration of measured economic need. 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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.
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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 31 schools in Syracuse City School District.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Syracuse City School District's schools, above the New York average of 45.5.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The New York districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood Union Free School District | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| New York City Geographic District #17 | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
| New York City Geographic District # 6 | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
| New York City Geographic District #12 | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
| New York City Geographic District # 3 | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
Comparisons are relative to Syracuse City School District'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.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs New York City Geographic District #31 →Syracuse City School District has 31 schools, including 6 high, 19 combined, 6 middle. Total enrollment is 18,398 students.
Syracuse City School District spends $26,097 per student. The district has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #177 in New York.
Syracuse City School District students are 52.1% African American, 17.4% White, 15.6% Hispanic or Latino, 5.5% Asian, averaged across 31 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Syracuse City School District has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #177 out of 931 districts in New York.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.