How equitable is school funding in Colorado?

The average funding equity score for Colorado school districts is 50 out of 100, compared to the national average of 49. This score considers per-pupil spending, need-adjusted spending, funding source diversity, and student-teacher ratios.

What does the equity score measure?

The equity score (0-100) measures four dimensions: per-pupil spending level, need-adjusted spending (rewarding districts that spend more where poverty is higher), funding diversity (less reliance on local property taxes), and resource access (lower student-teacher ratios).

Colorado · NCES F-33 finance data

School Funding Equity in Colorado

142 districts ranked by how equitably school funding is distributed, scored from NCES F-33 school finance data covering districts in all 50 states.

Compiled by PlainSchools Editorial, Independent education-data publisher · June 10, 2026

The equity picture in one line

La Veta School District Re-2 ranks first in Colorado for funding equity at 94/100, in a state whose districts average 50 against a national average of 49.

94/100
top score (La Veta School District Re-2): $20,729
per-pupil spending in the top district: 24
districts scoring 70 or higher: 25
districts below 30

#	District	Enrollment	$/Pupil	Free Lunch	Local Rev %	Score
1	La Veta School District Re-2	238	$20,729	40.4%	13.0%	94
2	Mountain Valley School District No. Re 1	221	$19,746	34.4%	26.8%	92
3	Ignacio School District No. 11jt	641	$19,352	55.7%	29.7%	91
4	Granada School District No. Re-1	213	$17,378	51.7%	25.2%	89
5	Center Consolidated School District No. 26 Jt. of the Count	607	$18,948	79.0%	14.5%	87
6	School District No. Re-3 Frenchman	221	$53,783	18.8%	48.6%	83
7	Rocky Ford School District No. R2	632	$15,993	68.3%	16.1%	82
8	Mcclave School District No. Re-2	258	$16,684	29.9%	24.8%	82
9	Otis School District No. R-3	201	$15,754	42.1%	28.0%	81
10	Huerfano School District Re-1	491	$18,125	73.2%	41.6%	80
11	West End School District No. Re-2	260	$16,588	43.1%	18.1%	80
12	Big Sandy School District No. 100j	361	$15,855	43.8%	36.0%	79
13	Sierra Grande School District No. R-30	289	$18,490	66.8%	23.3%	79
14	Sheridan School District No. 2	1,125	$19,752	75.4%	41.1%	78
15	South Routt School District No. Re 3	350	$20,893	16.9%	38.7%	78
16	Sangre De Cristo School District No. Re-22j	259	$17,772	40.3%	41.8%	78
17	Swink School District No. 33 in the County of Otero and St	314	$14,141	33.0%	20.7%	77
18	Primero Reorganized School District No. 2	258	$17,996	38.0%	40.6%	77
19	Cheraw School District No. 31 in the County of Otero and S	227	$14,065	30.4%	13.4%	75
20	West Grand School District No. 1	391	$17,534	29.4%	51.8%	74
21	Springfield School District No. Re-4	304	$13,978	50.0%	12.4%	74
22	Wiley School District No. Re-13 Jt	266	$14,603	33.6%	20.7%	74
23	Upper Rio Grande School District C-7	386	$15,926	41.4%	53.2%	71
24	Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the County of Ouray a	332	$17,937	15.7%	55.3%	71
25	Cripple Creek-Victor School District No. Re-1	313	$22,228	55.0%	63.8%	69
26	Hanover School District No. 28 in the County of El Paso an	287	$16,085	53.3%	34.0%	69
27	East Otero School District No. R1	1,355	$13,362	72.4%	18.6%	66
28	Lake County School District No. R-1	979	$16,023	36.1%	44.4%	66
29	Telluride School District No. R-1	895	$18,870	14.2%	70.5%	66
30	Holyoke School District No. Re-1j	552	$13,349	44.3%	38.4%	66
31	School District No. Re-20 Weldon Valley	235	$14,036	29.2%	32.7%	66
32	Englewood School District No. 1 in the County of Arapahoe	2,441	$17,050	51.0%	73.1%	65
33	Trinidad School District 1 in the County of Las Animas and	796	$13,991	65.6%	22.5%	65
34	Clear Creek School District No. Re-1	680	$18,688	20.3%	75.3%	65
35	Miami-Yoder Joint District No. 60 of the Counties of El Pas	340	$17,585	39.0%	28.7%	65
36	School District No. Re-4 Buffalo	314	$15,475	18.1%	34.9%	65
37	Westminster Public Schools	8,004	$16,062	60.0%	41.9%	64
38	Dolores County School District Re-2j	263	$16,075	37.5%	63.6%	64
39	Akron School District No. R-1	427	$13,387	37.2%	37.7%	63
40	Fowler School District No. R4j	347	$13,101	34.4%	27.1%	62
41	Manitou Springs School District No. 14 in the County of El	1,317	$14,783	20.1%	45.3%	61
42	Crowley County School District No. Re-1-J	379	$15,037	61.0%	23.6%	61
43	Plateau Valley School District No. 50 in the County of Mesa	314	$16,859	23.8%	48.0%	61
44	Weld County Reorganized School District No. Re-1	1,837	$15,088	37.9%	60.4%	60
45	Calhan District No. Rj1	424	$12,993	40.5%	29.9%	60
46	Rangely School District Re4	488	$14,057	34.6%	40.7%	59
47	Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the County of E	22,725	$14,342	49.5%	47.8%	58
48	Bayfield School District No. 10jt-R	1,279	$13,174	29.2%	37.7%	58
49	Las Animas School District No. Re-1	822	$14,961	39.7%	20.4%	58
50	Gilpin County School District No. Re-1	408	$15,140	24.6%	59.9%	58
51	Aurora Joint District No. 28 of the Counties of Adams and a	38,135	$16,314	69.6%	46.4%	57
52	East Grand School District No. 2	1,283	$16,335	15.6%	84.1%	57
53	Ellicott School District No. 22 in the County of El Paso a	981	$12,332	46.9%	15.6%	57
54	School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C	87,883	$15,336	60.9%	70.4%	56
55	School District N. 14 in the County of Adams & State of Colo	5,692	$14,314	66.2%	40.5%	56
56	School District No. Re-2 Brush	1,366	$15,174	43.3%	60.4%	56
57	Park County School District No. Re-2	595	$16,183	31.4%	79.0%	56
58	Estes Park School District R-3	1,014	$14,903	26.8%	86.3%	55
59	Elbert School District No. 200	281	$13,345	18.9%	27.4%	55
60	Fountain School District No. 8 in the County of El Paso an	8,201	$12,970	30.9%	5.9%	54
61	Fremont Re-1	3,305	$12,716	46.6%	30.7%	54
62	Weld County School District No. Re-7	1,094	$15,400	29.6%	78.7%	54
63	Harrison School District No. 2 in the County of El Paso an	12,267	$11,944	53.1%	24.7%	53
64	Custer County School District Consolidate 1	354	$13,864	28.3%	65.9%	52
65	Sargent School District No. Re-33j	322	$14,776	29.9%	41.0%	52
66	Genoa-Hugo School District No. C-113	224	$13,845	28.1%	50.0%	52
67	Thompson School District R-2j	15,083	$15,018	32.3%	54.1%	51
68	School District No. R-4 in the County of Kit Carson and Stat	221	$14,134	29.2%	31.8%	51
69	Pueblo School District No. 60 in the County of Pueblo and	15,025	$12,481	70.9%	29.0%	50
70	Summit School District No. Re 1	3,633	$14,778	20.0%	78.2%	50
71	Woodland Park School District No. Re-2	2,010	$14,363	23.7%	49.0%	50
72	Hayden School District No. Re 1	454	$15,531	15.8%	69.0%	50
73	Kiowa County School District No. Re-1	211	$12,073	33.2%	27.2%	50
74	Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1	5,771	$14,795	25.0%	64.4%	49
75	Eagle County School District No. Re 50	6,620	$14,849	27.2%	72.6%	48
76	Sanford School District No. 6 in the County of Conejos and	384	$12,837	32.2%	13.0%	48
77	Haxtun School District No. Re-2j	334	$13,572	24.8%	39.3%	48
78	School District No. C-2 in the County of Elbert and State of	309	$13,826	33.4%	38.4%	48
79	Mapleton School District No. 1 in the County of Adams & St	7,088	$13,143	49.7%	37.2%	47
80	Steamboat Springs School District No. Re 2	2,664	$15,196	7.7%	67.1%	47
81	Aspen School District No. 1 in the County of Pitkin and Sta	1,572	$22,399	-	89.1%	47
82	Holly School District No. Re-3	273	$13,724	45.4%	53.8%	47
83	Boulder Valley School District No. Re2	28,485	$15,316	23.5%	80.6%	46
84	Monte Vista School District No. C-8	1,033	$11,711	59.2%	22.0%	45
85	Limon School District No. Re 4j	457	$13,292	34.3%	51.5%	45
86	Delta County Joint District No. 50	4,592	$12,649	42.1%	29.6%	44
87	Salida School District No. R-32	1,327	$13,598	25.2%	58.4%	44
88	Peyton School District No. 23 in the County of El Paso and	600	$13,225	17.0%	29.6%	44
89	Mancos School District Re-6	509	$12,885	39.8%	24.4%	44
90	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	35,747	$13,222	40.8%	45.4%	43
91	Greeleyschool District No. 6 in the County of Weld and Sta	22,200	$12,298	55.0%	38.8%	43
92	Archuleta County School District No. 50 Jt	1,678	$12,212	41.2%	47.4%	43
93	North Conejos School District No. Re1j	988	$10,600	58.1%	8.2%	43
94	Branson Reorganized School District No. 82	442	$9,516	40.6%	17.1%	43
95	Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the County of Arapah	52,392	$14,137	24.2%	48.6%	41
96	Wray Rd-2 School District	724	$12,766	38.5%	49.3%	41
97	School District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan	3,423	$10,987	52.2%	32.1%	40
98	Alamosa School District No. Re-11j	2,116	$11,228	60.8%	24.6%	40
99	Durango School District No. 9-R	5,452	$11,863	29.4%	48.5%	39
100	Garfield School District No. Re-2	4,662	$12,122	38.3%	37.7%	39
101	Platte Canyon School District No. 1 of the County of Park	797	$12,271	14.3%	50.9%	39
102	Hoehne Reorganized School District No. 3	319	$11,742	28.5%	37.7%	38
103	Poudre School District R-1	29,995	$13,223	29.2%	57.5%	37
104	State Charter School Institute	19,239	$10,869	42.3%	8.8%	37
105	School District No. 3 in the County of El Paso and State of	9,612	$11,395	25.4%	30.7%	37
106	Moffat County School District Re: No. 1	2,092	$12,071	34.1%	55.5%	37
107	Grand Valley School District No. 16 in the County of Garfi	1,198	$12,462	41.4%	46.2%	37
108	Dolores School District No. Re-4a	683	$11,920	38.2%	30.7%	35
109	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	20,762	$11,650	35.9%	38.9%	34
110	Yuma 1 School District	886	$11,717	47.5%	30.3%	34
111	Jefferson County School District No. R-1	75,327	$13,124	31.0%	55.3%	33
112	Meeker School District Re1	712	$12,727	29.8%	62.9%	33
113	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	2,449	$11,473	53.0%	42.2%	32
114	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1j	31,894	$12,559	27.2%	54.1%	30
115	Weld County School District Re-3j	2,785	$12,612	37.3%	67.1%	30
116	Weld Re-8 Schools	2,522	$12,774	41.3%	60.7%	30
117	Lamar School District No. Re-2	1,522	$9,479	55.8%	17.9%	30
118	Littleton School District No. 6 in the County of Arapahoe	13,450	$13,988	16.6%	64.6%	29
119	Fremont Re-2	1,390	$10,160	40.8%	37.2%	29
120	Julesburg School District No. Re1	607	$9,525	39.9%	14.6%	29
121	Montrose County School District Re-1j	6,029	$10,606	45.8%	28.8%	28
122	Cheyenne Mountain School District No. 12 in the County of E	3,737	$11,912	14.6%	56.3%	28
123	El Paso County Colorado School District 49	24,517	$10,145	23.7%	23.9%	27
124	Buena Vista School District No. R-31	1,032	$13,814	25.6%	68.3%	27
125	Academy School District No. 20 in the County of El Paso an	25,719	$10,954	11.9%	44.7%	26
126	Pueblo County School District 70	10,501	$10,558	40.1%	31.7%	26
127	Byers School District No. 32j	5,671	$8,546	23.3%	5.6%	26
128	School District No. Re-1 Valley	1,972	$11,139	39.1%	41.0%	26
129	Weld County School District No. Re-5j	3,869	$11,639	17.3%	41.4%	25
130	Weld County School District No. Re-9	993	$10,570	28.8%	62.4%	25
131	Burlington Public School District No. Re-6j	762	$10,242	48.8%	43.7%	25
132	Deer Trail School District No. 26j	325	$11,817	38.6%	47.5%	23
133	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	62,341	$11,848	9.7%	52.8%	21
134	Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 in the Co	6,496	$10,492	7.8%	44.8%	21
135	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1j	2,061	$12,701	18.3%	69.7%	21
136	Strasburg School District 31j	1,209	$9,777	24.8%	37.5%	21
137	Elizabeth School District	2,379	$11,990	11.2%	43.8%	20
138	School District 27j	22,713	$10,462	32.6%	44.5%	19
139	Weld County Reorganized School District No. Re-4	8,227	$10,199	14.7%	56.8%	19
140	Weld County School District No. Re-2	1,977	$10,860	23.6%	74.5%	17
141	School District No. Re-50 Wiggins	862	$10,537	25.2%	74.3%	15
142	Bennett School District No. 29j	1,296	$10,252	23.2%	51.8%	11

How the Equity Score Works

The equity score (0-100) evaluates four dimensions of school funding fairness. According to the National Center for Education Statistics F-33 Finance Survey (FY 2021-22, released in 2024), which covers more than 17,000 districts nationwide, local property wealth drives most of the spending differences the score captures; our methodology documents each weight:

Per-Pupil Spending (0-25)

Higher spending relative to peers

Need-Adjusted Spending (0-25)

Spending weighted by poverty level, rewards districts that spend more where need is greatest

Funding Diversity (0-25)

Less reliance on local property taxes, more state/federal support

Resource Access (0-25)

Lower student-teacher ratios = more individualized attention

National Equity Rankings → ← Back to Colorado

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.