Elementary school (grades K-5) · Sacramento, CA

Golden Empire Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Golden Empire Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063384005245
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
12
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
25
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Golden Empire Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#19 of 124
elementary schools in Sacramento · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
21.9:1
students per teacher
54.4%
free-lunch eligible

Golden Empire Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Golden Empire Elementary ranks #19 of 124 elementary schools in Sacramento, CA.

Enrollment

438

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

20.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+2% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

54.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

-2% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Golden Empire Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Golden Empire Elementary

Golden Empire Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Sacramento, California, enrolling 438 students.

At 21.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 54.4% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 438 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,545 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #282.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (40%) and White (22%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 75/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 19.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Sacramento's elementary schools, it stands alongside Smythe Academy of Arts and Sciences (1,091 students): Golden Empire Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (21.9:1 vs 23.7:1).

Sacramento City Unified also operates C. K. Mcclatchy High (2,569 students) and Hiram W. Johnson High (1,682 students) alongside Golden Empire Elementary.

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 Golden Empire Elementary compares

Golden Empire Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.9:1 ▲ 2% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 54.4% ▼ 2% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 438 top 54% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.9:1
Leaner classes than 11% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
438
Bigger than 53% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
54.4%
free-lunch eligible - 2% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.9:1
students per teacher - 2% above state mean
Top 52% in California - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
30.1%
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
$17,312
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.7 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

Hispanic or Latino 40.0%
White 22.4%
Two or More 12.8%
Asian 12.1%
African American 11.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 40.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 74.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 74.6, Golden Empire Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sacramento City Unified, which includes Golden Empire Elementary.

$17,312
Per student
+5%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.8%
State 53.8%
Federal 19.4%

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 Golden Empire Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
C. K. Mcclatchy High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hiram W. Johnson High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
John F. Kennedy High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Luther Burbank High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Rosemont High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Golden Empire Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Sacramento City Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Sacramento

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Golden Empire Elementary's federal record.

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 Golden Empire Elementary

How many students attend Golden Empire Elementary?

Golden Empire Elementary has 438 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Sacramento, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Golden Empire Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Golden Empire Elementary is 21.9:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 39% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Golden Empire Elementary?

54.4% of students at Golden Empire Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Golden Empire Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Golden Empire Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 40.0% of enrollment, in Sacramento, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 74.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Golden Empire Elementary?

Golden Empire Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Golden Empire Elementary rank among elementary schools in Sacramento?

By Resource Investment Index, Golden Empire Elementary ranks #19 of 124 elementary schools in Sacramento, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Sacramento on the city page.

Is Golden Empire Elementary a good school?

Golden Empire Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California 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 Sacramento City Unified?

Besides Golden Empire Elementary, Sacramento City Unified also operates C. K. Mcclatchy High (2,569 students), Hiram W. Johnson High (1,682 students), and John F. Kennedy High (1,652 students). See the Sacramento City Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.