Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Waco, Texas - 25 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Waco Isd #386 of 1047 districts in Texas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,294 per pupil, Waco Isd ranks #470 of 1207 Texas districts by per-pupil spending (Texas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Waco Isd operates 25 public schools serving 13,824 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Texas. The school portfolio breaks down into 18 combined, 4 middle, 3 high 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 Mclennan County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,294 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1207 Texas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Texas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 46.6% local, 33.9% state, and 19.5% 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 57/100, ranked #386 of 1047 in Texas 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 2 of 25 schools offering Advanced Placement (28 AP courses district-wide), a 325.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 37.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 57.6% Hispanic or Latino, 31.8% African American, 7.3% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mountainview El, with a diversity index of 66.7/100.
Its largest campus is Waco H S, enrolling 1,885 students (14% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Bill Logue Detention Center, at 11 students, a 171x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Waco Isd school enrollment ranges from 11 students (lowest) to 1,885 students (highest), a spread of 1,874 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share is at least 75%, indicating a high concentration of measured economic need. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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 Waco Isd is typically wider than the Waco Isd-aggregate figure suggests.
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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 25 schools in Waco Isd.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Waco Isd's schools, above the Texas average of 44.7.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Waco H S | 1,885 |
| University H S | 1,752 |
| Tennyson Middle | 963 |
| Bell's Hill El | 786 |
| Cesar Chavez Middle | 786 |
| Lake Air Montessori School | 734 |
| Indian Spring Middle Charter | 723 |
| Dean Highland El | 617 |
| Parkdale El | 497 |
| South Waco El | 490 |
| Alta Vista El Charter | 479 |
| Crestview El | 464 |
| Cedar Ridge El | 446 |
| Kendrick El | 446 |
| Hillcrest Pds Magnet | 431 |
| G W Carver Middle Charter | 393 |
| Provident Heights El | 383 |
| J H Hines El Charter | 379 |
| Brook Avenue El Charter | 356 |
| Mountainview El | 349 |
| West Avenue El | 249 |
| G L Wiley Opportunity Center | 98 |
| Brazos H S | 86 |
| Challenge Academy | 52 |
| Bill Logue Detention Center | 11 |
The Texas districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grapevine-Colleyville Isd | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Southwest Isd | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Eagle Pass Isd | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Belton Isd | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Magnolia Isd | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Waco Isd's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Houston Isd →Waco Isd has 25 schools, including 3 high, 4 middle, 18 combined. Total enrollment is 13,824 students.
Waco Isd spends $14,294 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #386 in Texas.
Waco Isd students are 57.6% Hispanic or Latino, 31.8% African American, 7.3% White, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 25 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Waco Isd has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #386 out of 1047 districts in Texas.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.