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Tustin, California - 28 schools
An equity score of 22/100 ranks Tustin Unified #1398 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,372 per pupil, Tustin Unified ranks #1358 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
21,830
Total Enrollment
28
Schools
$13,372
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Tustin Unified operates 28 public schools serving 21,830 students, placing it in the mid-size range in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 18 elementary, 4 high, 4 middle, 2 combined 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 Orange County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,372 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 53.9% local, 38.0% state, and 8.1% 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 22/100, ranked #1398 of 1517 in California 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 3 of 28 schools offering Advanced Placement (59 AP courses district-wide), a 603.9:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 50.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 18.8% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ladera Elementary, with a diversity index of 72.6/100.
Its largest campus is Arnold O. Beckman High, enrolling 2,776 students (13% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Hillview High (Continuation), at 142 students, a 20x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Tustin Unified school enrollment varies 20× across entities
Tustin Unified school enrollment ranges from 142 students (lowest) to 2,776 students (highest), a spread of 2,634 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Tustin Unified student-counselor ratio is 604:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Tustin Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 20.6% — 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 Tustin Unified is typically wider than the Tustin Unified-aggregate figure suggests.