An equity score of 64/100 ranks Zapata County Isd #278 of 1047 districts in Texas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,602 per pupil, Zapata County Isd ranks #582 of 1207 Texas districts by per-pupil spending (Texas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,376
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$13,602
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Zapata County Isd operates 6 public schools serving 3,376 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Texas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Zapata County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,602 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 30.5% local, 42.2% state, and 27.3% 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 64/100, ranked #278 of 1047 in Texas against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (7 AP courses district-wide), a 381:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 48.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 99.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% White, 0.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Zapata H S, with a diversity index of 1.6/100.
Its largest campus is Zapata H S, enrolling 1,065 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Benavides El, at 51 students, a 21x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Zapata H S accounts for 31.5% of all Zapata County Isd student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Zapata County Isd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: high. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Zapata County Isd school enrollment varies 21× across entities
Zapata County Isd school enrollment ranges from 51 students (lowest) to 1,065 students (highest), a spread of 1,014 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.
Zapata County Isd reports 87.2% free-lunch eligibility
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.
Zapata County Isd student-counselor ratio is 381:1 — 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.
Zapata County Isd chronic absenteeism rate is 48.3% — 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.
Zapata County Isd has 6 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 4 combined. Total enrollment is 3,376 students.
How much does Zapata County Isd spend per student?
Zapata County Isd spends $13,602 per student. The district has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #278 in Texas.
What is the demographic composition of Zapata County Isd?
Zapata County Isd students are 99.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% White, 0.1% African American, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Zapata County Isd?
Zapata County Isd has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #278 out of 1047 districts in Texas.