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Upland, California - 14 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Upland Unified #932 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,699 per pupil, Upland Unified ranks #1028 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
10,079
Total Enrollment
14
Schools
$14,699
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Upland Unified operates 14 public schools serving 10,079 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 elementary, 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 San Bernardino County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,699 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 30.3% local, 59.5% state, and 10.2% 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 43/100, ranked #932 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 14 schools offering Advanced Placement (19 AP courses district-wide), a 333.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 26.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% White, 6.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pioneer Junior High, with a diversity index of 65.9/100.
Its largest campus is Upland High, enrolling 2,797 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Hillside High, at 119 students, a 24x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Upland High accounts for 27.8% of all Upland Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Upland Unified-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.
Upland Unified school enrollment varies 24× across entities
Upland Unified school enrollment ranges from 119 students (lowest) to 2,797 students (highest), a spread of 2,678 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.
Upland Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 54.9% 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.
Upland Unified student-counselor ratio is 334:1 — 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 Upland Unified is typically wider than the Upland Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Upland Unified 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 Upland Unified is typically wider than the Upland Unified-aggregate figure suggests.