Enrollment
280
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Union, MS
Union High School
Federal NCES profile for Union High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 280438000825
👥 S:T ratio 60
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Union High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi schools.
- #2 of 3
- public schools in Union · Resource Index
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10:1
- small classes for Mississippi
- 60.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Union High School has class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi schools. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Union High School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Union, MS.
School address
District: Union Public School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280438000825 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.2%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union High School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Union High School
Union High School is a higher-need, mid-sized high school in Union, Mississippi, enrolling 280 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10:1, Union High School is leaner than roughly 90% of Mississippi schools and 25% under the state's 13.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 60.2% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 280 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 59 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #32.
Its student body is led by White (73%) and African American (23%) (diversity index 41/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 5 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 280 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 28.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 88 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 280 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Union Public School Dist also operates Union Elementary School (410 students) and Union Middle School (286 students) alongside Union High School.
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 High School compares
Union High School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10:1 | ▼ 25% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.2% | ▼ 25% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 280 | top 77% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
280
Bigger than 29% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
60.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 25% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 10% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.6%
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
$11,102
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 280 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 35 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 31.4 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
White 73.2%
African American 23.2%
Asian 1.1%
Two or More 1.1%
Hispanic or Latino 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 73.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 41.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 41.0, Union High School is about as mixed as the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
AP courses offered 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union Public School Dist, which includes Union High School.
$11,102
Per student
-7%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 15.4%
State 56.4%
Federal 28.2%
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 High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Union Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Union High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 410
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 286
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~280 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Union High School's federal record.
- Compare Union High School against another school. Compare schools
- Union Public School Dist'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 High School
How many students attend Union High School?
Union High School has 280 students enrolled. It is a high school in Union, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Union High School is 10:1, which is 25% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 36% 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 High School?
60.2% of students at Union High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union High School?
The largest demographic group at Union High School is White at 73.2% of enrollment, in Union, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union High School?
Union High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical 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 High School rank among public schools in Union?
By Resource Investment Index, Union High School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Union, MS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Union on the city page.
Is Union High School a good school?
Union High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi 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 Public School Dist?
Besides Union High School, Union Public School Dist also operates Union Elementary School (410 students) and Union Middle School (286 students). See the Union Public School Dist 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.