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Exton, Pennsylvania - 17 schools
An equity score of 35/100 ranks West Chester Area Sd #461 of 648 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,702 per pupil, West Chester Area Sd ranks #291 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
12,145
Total Enrollment
17
Schools
$17,702
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
West Chester Area Sd operates 17 public schools serving 12,145 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 elementary, 3 high, 3 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 Chester County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,702 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 80.2% local, 16.5% state, and 3.4% 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 35/100, ranked #461 of 648 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 17 schools offering Advanced Placement (72 AP courses district-wide), a 403.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 13.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 70.5% White, 9.7% Asian, 9.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Exton El Sch, with a diversity index of 64.6/100.
Its largest campus is West Chester Henderson Hs, enrolling 1,444 students (12% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Fern Hill El Sch, at 408 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
West Chester Area Sd school enrollment varies 3.5× across entities
West Chester Area Sd school enrollment ranges from 408 students (lowest) to 1,444 students (highest), a spread of 1,036 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.
West Chester Area Sd student-counselor ratio is 403:1 — 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.
West Chester Area Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 13.7% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
West Chester Area Sd has 17 schools, including 3 high, 3 middle, 11 elementary. Total enrollment is 12,145 students.
How much does West Chester Area Sd spend per student?
West Chester Area Sd spends $17,702 per student. The district has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #461 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of West Chester Area Sd?
West Chester Area Sd students are 70.5% White, 9.7% Asian, 9.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.7% African American, averaged across 17 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for West Chester Area Sd?
West Chester Area Sd has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #461 out of 648 districts in Pennsylvania.