Enrollment
193
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · New Castle, PA
Union Area Hs
Federal NCES profile for Union Area Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 422406002712
👥 S:T ratio 57
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Union Area Hs earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Pennsylvania schools.
- #2 of 5
- high schools in New Castle · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.7:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 50.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Union Area Hs has class sizes smaller than 87% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Union Area Hs ranks #2 of 5 high schools in New Castle, PA.
School address
District: Union Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 422406002712 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.5%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union Area Hs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Union Area Hs
Union Area Hs is a higher-need, small high school in New Castle, Pennsylvania, enrolling 193 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.7:1, Union Area Hs is leaner than roughly 87% of Pennsylvania schools and 21% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 50.5% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Pennsylvania schools, with 193 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 136 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #54.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 6 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 193 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Among New Castle's high schools, it stands alongside New Castle Shs (740 students): Union Area Hs is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.7:1 vs 15.1:1).
Union Area Sd also operates Union Memorial El Sch (320 students) and Union Area Ms (174 students) alongside Union Area Hs.
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 Union Area Hs compares
Union Area Hs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 21% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.5% | ▼ 13% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 193 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
193
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
50.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 13% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 13% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.0%
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
$16,090
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 193 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
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
White 83.4%
African American 10.4%
Two or More 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 83.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.2, Union Area Hs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union Area Sd, which includes Union Area Hs.
$16,090
Per student
-10%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.6%
State 54.8%
Federal 10.5%
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.
How Union Area Hs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Memorial El Sch | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Union Area Ms | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Union Area Hs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 320
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 174
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
Similar high schools in New Castle
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
New Castle Shs
Standard public school
740 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Lawrence County Ctc
Vocational / career-technical school
418 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Mohawk Shs
Standard public school
406 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Laurel Hs
Standard public school
313 students 11.2:1 students per teacher
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~193 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Union Area Hs's federal record.
- Compare Union Area Hs against another school. Compare schools
- Union Area Sd'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 Union Area Hs
How many students attend Union Area Hs?
Union Area Hs has 193 students enrolled. It is a high school in New Castle, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union Area Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Union Area Hs is 10.7:1, which is 21% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 32% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Union Area Hs?
50.5% of students at Union Area Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union Area Hs?
The largest demographic group at Union Area Hs is White at 83.4% of enrollment, in New Castle, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union Area Hs?
Union Area Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (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 Union Area Hs rank among high schools in New Castle?
By Resource Investment Index, Union Area Hs ranks #2 of 5 high schools in New Castle, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in New Castle on the city page.
Is Union Area Hs a good school?
Union Area Hs earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Pennsylvania 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 Union Area Sd?
Besides Union Area Hs, Union Area Sd also operates Union Memorial El Sch (320 students) and Union Area Ms (174 students). See the Union Area Sd 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.