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Traverse City, Michigan - 16 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Traverse City Area Public Schools #602 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,932 per pupil, Traverse City Area Public Schools ranks #382 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
8,712
Total Enrollment
16
Schools
$12,932
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Traverse City Area Public Schools operates 16 public schools serving 8,712 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 12 combined, 2 high, 2 middle 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 Grand Traverse County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,932 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 48.6% local, 40.7% state, and 10.7% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 33/100, ranked #602 of 707 in Michigan 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 2 of 16 schools offering Advanced Placement (48 AP courses district-wide), a 317.7:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 30.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 87.0% White, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Traverse Heights Elem School, with a diversity index of 58.8/100.
Its largest campus is West Senior High, enrolling 1,384 students (16% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Traverse City High School, at 171 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
West Senior High accounts for 15.9% of all Traverse City Area Public Schools student enrollment
That concentration means Traverse City Area Public Schools-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.
Traverse City Area Public Schools school enrollment varies 8.1× across entities
Traverse City Area Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 171 students (lowest) to 1,384 students (highest), a spread of 1,213 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Traverse City Area Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 318:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Traverse City Area Public Schools is typically wider than the Traverse City Area Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Traverse City Area Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 30.3% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Traverse City Area Public Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Traverse City Area Public Schools?
Traverse City Area Public Schools has 16 schools, including 2 high, 12 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 8,712 students.
How much does Traverse City Area Public Schools spend per student?
Traverse City Area Public Schools spends $12,932 per student. The district has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #602 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Traverse City Area Public Schools?
Traverse City Area Public Schools students are 87.0% White, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American, 1.8% Asian, averaged across 16 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Traverse City Area Public Schools?
Traverse City Area Public Schools has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #602 out of 707 districts in Michigan.