Enrollment
476
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Belfast, ME
Belfast Area High School
Federal NCES profile for Belfast Area High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 231482200440
👥 S:T ratio 51
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 5
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Belfast Area High School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of Maine schools.
- #4 of 4
- public schools in Belfast · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.2:1
- large classes for Maine
- 31.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Belfast Area High School has class sizes larger than 74% of Maine schools. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Belfast Area High School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Belfast, ME.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.2:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.0%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
-9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Belfast Area High School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Belfast Area High School
Belfast Area High School is a mid-sized high school in Belfast, Maine, enrolling 476 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 31.0% lands close to the Maine typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 476 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 569 Maine schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 123 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Maine schools statewide, it ranks #111, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 10 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 476 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 39.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Rsu 71 also operates Troy a Howard Middle School (330 students) and Captain Albert W. Stevens School (232 students) alongside Belfast Area High School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Belfast Area High School compares
Belfast Area High School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.2:1 | ▲ 10% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.0% | ▼ 9% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 476 | top 17% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
476
Bigger than 59% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 9% below the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.2:1
students per teacher
- 10% above state mean
Top 74% in Maine - lower ratio than 26% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
39.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$20,461
per pupil, district-wide
- above Maine avg of $20,083
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 476 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
16
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 86.8%
Two or More 7.6%
Hispanic or Latino 2.5%
Asian 1.5%
African American 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 86.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.0, Belfast Area High School is more mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
AP courses offered 10
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 71, which includes Belfast Area High School.
$20,461
Per student
+2%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 54.8%
State 42.6%
Federal 2.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Belfast Area High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troy a Howard Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Captain Albert W. Stevens School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Ames Elementary School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| East Belfast School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Gladys Weymouth Elem School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Belfast Area High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 330
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 232
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 122
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 99
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 79
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~476 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Belfast Area High School's federal record.
- Compare Belfast Area High School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 71's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Belfast Area High School
How many students attend Belfast Area High School?
Belfast Area High School has 476 students enrolled. It is a high school in Belfast, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Belfast Area High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Belfast Area High School is 12.2:1, which is 10% higher than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 22% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Belfast Area High School?
31.0% of students at Belfast Area High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Belfast Area High School?
The largest demographic group at Belfast Area High School is White at 86.8% of enrollment, in Belfast, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Belfast Area High School?
Belfast Area High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Belfast Area High School rank among public schools in Belfast?
By Resource Investment Index, Belfast Area High School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Belfast, ME. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Belfast on the city page.
Is Belfast Area High School a good school?
Belfast Area High School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of Maine schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Rsu 71?
Besides Belfast Area High School, Rsu 71 also operates Troy a Howard Middle School (330 students), Captain Albert W. Stevens School (232 students), and Ames Elementary School (122 students). See the Rsu 71 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.