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, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Whittier, California - 12 schools
An equity score of 54/100 ranks Whittier City Elementary #655 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,897 per pupil, Whittier City Elementary ranks #749 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,495
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$15,897
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Whittier City Elementary operates 12 public schools serving 5,495 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 10 elementary, 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 Los Angeles County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,897 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 23.5% local, 65.2% state, and 11.3% 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 54/100, ranked #655 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.
a 347.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 43.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.2% White, 1.7% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Whittier Independent Study, with a diversity index of 29.5/100.
Its largest campus is Katherine Edwards Middle, enrolling 894 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Whittier Independent Study, at 67 students, a 13x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Katherine Edwards Middle accounts for 16.3% of all Whittier City Elementary student enrollment
That concentration means Whittier City Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. 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.
Whittier City Elementary school enrollment varies 13× across entities
Whittier City Elementary school enrollment ranges from 67 students (lowest) to 894 students (highest), a spread of 827 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Whittier City Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 54.7% 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.
Whittier City Elementary student-counselor ratio is 348:1 — 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 Whittier City Elementary is typically wider than the Whittier City Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
Whittier City Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 43.4% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Whittier City Elementary has 12 schools, including 2 middle, 10 elementary. Total enrollment is 5,495 students.
How much does Whittier City Elementary spend per student?
Whittier City Elementary spends $15,897 per student. The district has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #655 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Whittier City Elementary?
Whittier City Elementary students are 90.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.2% White, 1.7% Asian, 1.0% African American, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Whittier City Elementary?
Whittier City Elementary has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #655 out of 1517 districts in California.