Enrollment
1,891
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 062961004596
Palo Alto High — Palo Alto, CA
Federal NCES profile for Palo Alto High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 32
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 65
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: Palo Alto 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)
118.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
9.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-83% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palo Alto 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
Palo Alto High reports 1,891 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 118.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 6% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 9.3% 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 33 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 231 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palo Alto Unified spends $31,452 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 86.1% from local sources (property taxes), 11.1% from the state, and 2.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 Palo Alto 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 | 16.9:1 | ▼ 22% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 9.3% | ▼ 83% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,891 | top 96% | — | — |
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
9.3%
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
16.9:1
students per teacher
— 22% below state mean
Top 13% in California — lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.9%
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
$31,452
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors8.2 FTE
Per 231 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 19 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 1,891 Top 96% in California — larger than 4% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 118.0
Students per teacher 16.9:1 -22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 9.3% -83% vs state
NCES ID 062961004596
Student demographics
Asian 37.5%
White 31.4%
Hispanic or Latino 15.2%
Two or More 12.3%
African American 2.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.5%
Largest group: Asian at 37.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 33
Counselors (FTE) 8.2
Students per counselor 231:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 19
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palo Alto Unified, which includes Palo Alto High.
$31,452
Per student
+74%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+61%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 86.1%
State 11.1%
Federal 2.8%
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
- 1,643
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 1,002
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 732
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 572
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 464
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
Similar high schools in Palo Alto
1 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 Palo Alto High
How many students attend Palo Alto High?
Palo Alto High has 1,891 students enrolled. It is a high school in Palo Alto, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palo Alto High?
The student-teacher ratio at Palo Alto High is 16.9:1, which is 22% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palo Alto High?
9.3% of students at Palo Alto High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palo Alto High?
The largest demographic group at Palo Alto High is Asian at 37.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Palo Alto, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palo Alto High?
Palo Alto High has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) 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.