Enrollment
1,165
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 040507000430
Mingus Union High School — Cottonwood, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Mingus Union High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 18
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Mingus Union High School District (4488) · Arizona
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.4:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mingus Union High School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Mingus Union High School reports 1,165 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the Arizona average and 35% below the national baseline. The school offers 11 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 194 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 67.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mingus Union High School District (4488) spends $10,327 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 55.8% from local sources (property taxes), 29.7% from the state, and 14.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Mingus Union High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.4:1 | ▲ 15% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.9% | ▼ 30% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,165 | top 93% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
33.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.4:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 76% in Arizona — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
67.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,327
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 194 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
74
in-school suspensions + 75 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,165 Top 93% in Arizona — larger than 7% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 20.4:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.9% -30% vs state
NCES ID 040507000430
Student demographics
White 49.2%
Hispanic or Latino 44.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.8%
Two or More 2.7%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 49.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 11
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 194:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 67.4%
In-school suspensions 74
Out-of-school suspensions 75
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mingus Union High School District (4488), which includes Mingus Union High School.
$10,327
Per student
-31%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-47%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 55.8%
State 29.7%
Federal 14.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 37
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar high schools in Cottonwood
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Mingus Union High School
How many students attend Mingus Union High School?
Mingus Union High School has 1,165 students enrolled. It is a high school in COTTONWOOD, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mingus Union High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mingus Union High School is 20.4:1, which is 15% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mingus Union High School?
33.9% of students at Mingus Union High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mingus Union High School?
The largest demographic group at Mingus Union High School is White at 49.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in COTTONWOOD, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mingus Union High School?
Mingus Union High School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.