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Tuscaloosa, Alabama - 19 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Tuscaloosa City #73 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,947 per pupil, Tuscaloosa City ranks #41 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
11,186
Total Enrollment
19
Schools
$12,947
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Tuscaloosa City operates 19 public schools serving 11,186 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 combined, 4 middle, 3 high, 1 elementary 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 Tuscaloosa County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,947 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 39.7% local, 42.3% state, and 18.0% 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 51/100, ranked #73 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 19 schools offering Advanced Placement (19 AP courses district-wide), a 402.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 67.5% African American, 19.7% White, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Tuscaloosa Magnet School Elementary, with a diversity index of 62.6/100.
Its largest campus is Northridge High School, enrolling 1,153 students (10% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Tuscaloosa Magnet School Middle, at 173 students, a 7x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Tuscaloosa City school enrollment varies 6.7× across entities
Tuscaloosa City school enrollment ranges from 173 students (lowest) to 1,153 students (highest), a spread of 980 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Tuscaloosa City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 56.2% 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.
Tuscaloosa City student-counselor ratio is 402:1 — 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.
Tuscaloosa City chronic absenteeism rate is 21.7% — 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 Tuscaloosa City is typically wider than the Tuscaloosa City-aggregate figure suggests.
Tuscaloosa City has 19 schools, including 3 high, 4 middle, 11 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 11,186 students.
How much does Tuscaloosa City spend per student?
Tuscaloosa City spends $12,947 per student. The district has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #73 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Tuscaloosa City?
Tuscaloosa City students are 67.5% African American, 19.7% White, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% Asian, averaged across 19 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Tuscaloosa City?
Tuscaloosa City has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #73 out of 146 districts in Alabama.