Enrollment
1,546
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 062637003961
Northgate High — Walnut Creek, CA
Federal NCES profile for Northgate High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 3
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 63
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: Mt. Diablo Unified · California
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)
62.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
9.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
-83% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northgate High compares with California 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
Northgate High reports 1,546 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 62.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 53% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 9.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 83% below the California average and 82% below the national baseline. The school offers 20 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 773 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mt. Diablo Unified spends $15,117 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.6% from local sources (property taxes), 43.9% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Northgate High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 24.3:1 | ▲ 12% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 9.4% | ▼ 83% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,546 | top 94% | — | — |
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
9.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 83% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
24.3:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 76% in California — 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
14.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,117
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 773 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,546 Top 94% in California — larger than 6% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 62.0
Students per teacher 24.3:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 9.4% -83% vs state
NCES ID 062637003961
Student demographics
White 46.0%
Two or More 18.6%
Asian 16.8%
Hispanic or Latino 16.6%
African American 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 46.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 20
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 773:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 31
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mt. Diablo Unified, which includes Northgate High.
$15,117
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 43.9%
Federal 9.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,948
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,397
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Enrollment
- 1,137
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,059
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,005
- Students per teacher
- 25.8:1
Similar high schools in Walnut Creek
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 Northgate High
How many students attend Northgate High?
Northgate High has 1,546 students enrolled. It is a high school in Walnut Creek, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northgate High?
The student-teacher ratio at Northgate High is 24.3:1, which is 12% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Northgate High?
9.4% of students at Northgate High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northgate High?
The largest demographic group at Northgate High is White at 46.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Walnut Creek, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northgate High?
Northgate High has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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.