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Yelm, Washington - 10 schools
An equity score of 47/100 ranks Yelm School District #128 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,437 per pupil, Yelm School District ranks #196 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,668
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$16,437
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Yelm School District operates 10 public schools serving 5,668 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 combined, 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 Thurston County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,437 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 18.8% local, 67.7% state, and 13.6% 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 47/100, ranked #128 of 238 in Washington 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 10 schools offering Advanced Placement (10 AP courses district-wide), a 382.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 61.0% White, 20.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Southworth Elementary, with a diversity index of 63.1/100.
Its largest campus is Yelm High School 12, enrolling 1,693 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Yelm Extension School, at 116 students, a 15x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Yelm High School 12 accounts for 29.9% of all Yelm School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Yelm School District-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.
Yelm School District school enrollment varies 15× across entities
Yelm School District school enrollment ranges from 116 students (lowest) to 1,693 students (highest), a spread of 1,577 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.
Yelm School District student-counselor ratio is 382:1 — 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.
Yelm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 20.2% — 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 Yelm School District is typically wider than the Yelm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Yelm School District has 10 schools, including 2 high, 6 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 5,668 students.
How much does Yelm School District spend per student?
Yelm School District spends $16,437 per student. The district has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #128 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Yelm School District?
Yelm School District students are 61.0% White, 20.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian, 1.9% African American, averaged across 10 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Yelm School District?
Yelm School District has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #128 out of 238 districts in Washington.