Enrollment
952
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Salem, MA
Salem High
Federal NCES profile for Salem High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 60/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 251038001664
👥 S:T ratio 63
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 84
📋 Attendance 23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Salem High earns 60/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts schools.
- #2 of 3
- high schools in Salem · Resource Index
- 60
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.2:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 952
- students enrolled
Salem High has class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Salem High ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Salem, MA.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
104.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.2:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Salem High compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Salem High
Salem High is a large high school in Salem, Massachusetts, enrolling 952 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.2:1, Salem High is leaner than roughly 88% of Massachusetts schools and 25% under the state's 12.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Massachusetts, bigger than 91% of state schools at 952 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (49%) and White (36%) (diversity index 62/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 34 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 80 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Salem's high schools, it stands alongside New Liberty Innovation School (36 students): Salem High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (9.2:1 vs 6:1).
Salem also operates Collins Middle (611 students) and Witchcraft Heights (455 students) alongside Salem High.
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 Salem High compares
Salem High on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.2:1 | ▼ 25% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 952 | top 9% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.2:1
Leaner classes than 92% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
952
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.2:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 12% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.7%
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
$25,931
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors11.9 FTE
Per 80 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 27 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 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 49.3%
White 36.0%
African American 7.8%
Two or More 4.2%
Asian 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 49.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.9, Salem High is more mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 34
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salem, which includes Salem High.
$25,931
Per student
+15%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+56%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.5%
State 41.5%
Federal 12.0%
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 Salem High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collins Middle | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Witchcraft Heights | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Saltonstall School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bates | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Horace Mann Laboratory | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Salem High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 611
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 455
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 412
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 410
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 293
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar high schools in Salem
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~952 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Salem High's federal record.
- Compare Salem High against another school. Compare schools
- Salem'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 Salem High
How many students attend Salem High?
Salem High has 952 students enrolled. It is a high school in Salem, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Salem High?
The student-teacher ratio at Salem High is 9.2:1, which is 25% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 41% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Salem High?
The largest demographic group at Salem High is Hispanic or Latino at 49.3% of enrollment, in Salem, MA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Salem High?
Salem High has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (higher 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 Salem High rank among high schools in Salem?
By Resource Investment Index, Salem High ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Salem, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Salem on the city page.
Is Salem High a good school?
Salem High earns 60/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts 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 Salem?
Besides Salem High, Salem also operates Collins Middle (611 students), Witchcraft Heights (455 students), and Saltonstall School (412 students). See the Salem 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.