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Trinidad, California - 1 schools
At $13,969 per pupil, Trinidad Union Elementary ranks #1214 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
169
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$13,969
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Trinidad Union Elementary operates 1 public schools serving 169 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Humboldt County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,969 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 32.7% local, 54.4% state, and 12.9% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles.
a 142.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 26.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.6% White, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Trinidad Union, enrolling 161 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Trinidad Union accounts for 95.3% of all Trinidad Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Trinidad Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Trinidad Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Trinidad Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 55.6% 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 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.
Trinidad Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 143:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Trinidad Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 26.7% — 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 Trinidad Union Elementary is typically wider than the Trinidad Union Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Trinidad Union Elementary?
Trinidad Union Elementary has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 169 students.
How much does Trinidad Union Elementary spend per student?
Trinidad Union Elementary spends $13,969 per student.
What is the demographic composition of Trinidad Union Elementary?
Trinidad Union Elementary students are 65.6% White, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.