How equitable is school funding in Virginia?

The average funding equity score for Virginia 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).

Virginia · NCES F-33 finance data

School Funding Equity in Virginia

131 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, Education-data publisher · August 26, 2026

The equity picture in one line

Bristol City Public Schools ranks first in Virginia for funding equity at 83/100, in a state whose districts average 50 against a national average of 49.

83/100
top score (Bristol City Public Schools): $17,722
per-pupil spending in the top district: 25
districts scoring 70 or higher: 23
districts below 30

#	District	Enrollment	$/Pupil	Free Lunch	Local Rev %	Score
1	Bristol City Public Schools	2,194	$17,722	98.8%	23.2%	83
2	Martinsville City Public Schools	1,810	$17,343	99.7%	22.7%	82
3	Craig County Public Schools	476	$17,256	77.0%	24.4%	81
4	Cumberland County Public Schools	1,283	$17,801	99.4%	25.0%	80
5	Hopewell City Public Schools	3,984	$16,800	97.5%	20.7%	77
6	Buchanan County Public Schools	2,462	$15,191	94.1%	21.3%	76
7	Dickenson County Public Schools	1,946	$15,340	90.0%	19.2%	76
8	Nottoway County Public Schools	1,810	$15,548	97.1%	20.8%	76
9	Grayson County Public Schools	1,561	$16,370	87.8%	27.6%	76
10	Surry County Public Schools	681	$25,743	86.4%	69.9%	76
11	Charles City County Public Schools	562	$20,589	87.1%	54.7%	76
12	Roanoke City Public Schools	13,597	$18,406	98.0%	34.8%	75
13	Lee County Public Schools	2,949	$15,131	90.9%	12.6%	75
14	Charlotte County Public Schools	1,668	$15,891	85.4%	18.5%	75
15	Highland County Public Schools	200	$23,185	32.7%	47.2%	74
16	Halifax County Public Schools	4,620	$15,238	93.4%	23.4%	73
17	Smyth County Public Schools	3,981	$15,196	84.4%	23.6%	73
18	Brunswick County Public Schools	1,405	$18,712	99.1%	30.2%	73
19	Danville City Public Schools	5,684	$18,424	95.3%	26.6%	72
20	Buckingham County Public Schools	1,992	$15,667	92.6%	26.4%	72
21	Northumberland County Public Schools	1,200	$18,689	90.4%	61.2%	72
22	Mathews County Public Schools	911	$19,565	70.9%	55.9%	72
23	Westmoreland County Public Schools	1,561	$17,913	100.0%	38.9%	71
24	Richmond City Public Schools	21,130	$21,413	97.0%	40.0%	70
25	Lynchburg City Public Schools	7,856	$17,083	94.6%	33.2%	70
26	Petersburg City Public Schools	4,272	$16,474	97.9%	16.8%	68
27	Northampton County Public Schools	1,359	$15,918	99.4%	38.2%	68
28	Franklin City Public Schools	1,023	$18,288	98.8%	28.0%	68
29	Charlottesville City Public Schools	4,485	$19,953	63.1%	68.6%	67
30	Nelson County Public Schools	1,480	$19,458	76.4%	58.5%	67
31	Waynesboro City Public Schools	3,041	$16,393	86.9%	35.6%	66
32	Floyd County Public Schools	1,746	$15,840	75.1%	30.6%	66
33	Norfolk City Public Schools	27,306	$16,341	96.2%	34.5%	65
34	Winchester City Public Schools	4,268	$18,463	77.7%	45.5%	65
35	Staunton City Public Schools	2,692	$16,422	99.0%	34.8%	65
36	Prince Edward County Public Schools	1,887	$15,564	98.8%	22.7%	64
37	Lunenburg County Public Schools	1,575	$14,848	98.4%	18.7%	64
38	Middlesex County Public Schools	1,244	$16,498	94.4%	52.4%	64
39	Rappahannock County Public Schools	735	$21,264	35.5%	66.0%	64
40	Buena Vista City Public Schools	889	$16,729	86.3%	19.1%	63
41	Arlington County Public Schools	27,562	$23,424	30.6%	79.4%	62
42	Greensville County Public Schools	2,034	$25,104	-	26.7%	62
43	Colonial Beach Public Schools	574	$18,601	82.4%	26.8%	62
44	Russell County Public Schools	3,375	$14,376	90.5%	16.8%	61
45	Amherst County Public Schools	3,987	$14,301	77.3%	25.0%	60
46	Pittsylvania County Public Schools	7,918	$14,072	81.0%	23.1%	59
47	Page County Public Schools	3,030	$14,343	78.7%	23.9%	59
48	Rockbridge County Public Schools	2,549	$15,836	69.5%	50.4%	59
49	Falls Church City Public Schools	2,496	$24,047	8.4%	82.7%	57
50	Essex County Public Schools	1,181	$17,613	-	34.9%	57
51	Sussex County Public Schools	998	$24,850	-	36.3%	57
52	King and Queen County Public Schools	858	$16,570	-	33.6%	57
53	Norton City Public Schools	813	$14,362	96.0%	25.5%	57
54	Harrisonburg City Public Schools	6,682	$15,787	78.6%	66.5%	56
55	Portsmouth City Public Schools	13,371	$14,888	98.8%	32.7%	55
56	Wise County Public Schools	5,913	$13,973	83.8%	23.2%	55
57	Carroll County Public Schools	3,505	$14,021	84.5%	27.6%	55
58	Colonial Heights City Public Schools	2,843	$15,988	85.3%	48.6%	55
59	Alexandria City Public Schools	16,040	$21,716	59.1%	70.8%	54
60	Dinwiddie County Public Schools	4,256	$14,552	83.9%	33.4%	54
61	Loudoun County Public Schools	81,678	$19,934	26.0%	67.9%	53
62	Newport News City Public Schools	26,531	$16,082	89.2%	31.8%	53
63	Hampton City Public Schools	19,796	$15,034	83.8%	31.6%	53
64	Washington County Public Schools	6,737	$14,125	72.0%	36.6%	51
65	Accomack County Public Schools	4,726	$14,426	-	23.6%	51
66	Southampton County Public Schools	2,579	$15,083	76.5%	35.5%	51
67	Henry County Public Schools	7,010	$13,812	92.8%	21.8%	50
68	Pulaski County Public Schools	3,988	$13,947	78.5%	31.6%	50
69	Madison County Public Schools	1,680	$15,330	58.8%	40.4%	50
70	Shenandoah County Public Schools	5,630	$14,918	73.5%	37.1%	49
71	Manassas Park City Public Schools	3,434	$15,025	74.7%	27.9%	49
72	Bath County Public Schools	504	$22,792	88.6%	73.0%	49
73	Alleghany Highlands Public Schools	2,878	$14,827	73.8%	35.4%	48
74	West Point Public Schools	810	$15,928	32.7%	39.4%	48
75	Fredericksburg City Public Schools	3,762	$17,150	85.9%	50.8%	47
76	Franklin County Public Schools	6,252	$15,045	75.1%	40.5%	46
77	Galax City Public Schools	1,393	$14,113	92.2%	24.6%	45
78	Manassas City Public Schools	7,413	$16,832	71.3%	42.9%	44
79	Wythe County Public Schools	3,878	$13,467	73.8%	34.2%	44
80	Amelia County Public Schools	1,663	$14,096	85.1%	33.0%	44
81	Lancaster County Public Schools	1,039	$16,962	99.2%	62.0%	44
82	Greene County Public Schools	2,838	$14,377	67.7%	40.6%	43
83	Albemarle County Public Schools	13,937	$17,536	33.2%	66.8%	42
84	Salem City Public Schools	3,750	$14,892	48.4%	44.9%	42
85	Fairfax County Public Schools	179,858	$18,975	31.9%	66.6%	41
86	Montgomery County Public Schools	9,693	$14,114	40.4%	41.4%	41
87	Giles County Public Schools	3,457	$11,829	34.3%	24.9%	41
88	Patrick County Public Schools	2,481	$13,922	72.1%	21.1%	41
89	Richmond County Public Schools	1,346	$14,612	75.0%	33.6%	41
90	Campbell County Public Schools	7,873	$13,250	72.6%	27.2%	40
91	Tazewell County Public Schools	5,416	$13,165	82.9%	21.6%	40
92	Mecklenburg County Public Schools	3,972	$15,069	88.3%	40.2%	39
93	Appomattox County Public Schools	2,361	$12,435	73.2%	20.5%	38
94	Bland County Public Schools	796	$14,560	67.2%	28.6%	37
95	Warren County Public Schools	5,165	$13,947	65.8%	39.9%	35
96	Scott County Public Schools	4,024	$12,841	79.6%	14.3%	35
97	Chesapeake City Public Schools	40,769	$15,274	49.5%	47.1%	34
98	Gloucester County Public Schools	5,054	$14,604	55.1%	62.1%	34
99	Fluvanna County Public Schools	3,438	$14,076	39.6%	38.5%	34
100	Suffolk City Public Schools	14,490	$14,431	64.2%	40.0%	33
101	Bedford County Public Schools	9,084	$13,519	59.4%	32.1%	33
102	Fauquier County Public Schools	10,837	$15,817	31.6%	57.3%	32
103	Goochland County Public Schools	2,642	$15,045	31.1%	63.8%	32
104	Lexington City Public Schools	485	$14,427	25.2%	40.9%	32
105	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	65,456	$14,888	44.5%	46.6%	31
106	Rockingham County Public Schools	11,497	$14,743	47.6%	40.9%	31
107	Prince William County Public Schools	91,101	$15,373	47.1%	47.2%	30
108	Prince George County Public Schools	6,106	$13,299	40.3%	22.1%	30
109	Isle of Wight County Public Schools	5,627	$13,320	41.3%	37.9%	29
110	Louisa County Public Schools	5,173	$15,182	69.8%	56.5%	29
111	Botetourt County Public Schools	4,492	$13,903	35.2%	42.6%	28
112	Augusta County Public Schools	10,076	$13,991	48.3%	41.7%	27
113	Caroline County Public Schools	4,337	$12,960	75.0%	30.9%	27
114	Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools	11,375	$14,756	44.4%	84.7%	26
115	Powhatan County Public Schools	4,241	$13,138	26.3%	45.3%	26
116	Stafford County Public Schools	31,105	$13,431	40.9%	36.8%	25
117	Orange County Public Schools	5,035	$13,297	65.0%	36.0%	25
118	Roanoke County Public Schools	13,811	$13,365	39.9%	41.4%	23
119	Culpeper County Public Schools	8,352	$13,061	51.6%	36.4%	23
120	King George County Public Schools	4,521	$12,806	32.2%	32.4%	23
121	Radford City Public Schools	3,690	$9,898	64.8%	34.5%	23
122	Frederick County Public Schools	13,960	$14,605	38.7%	52.4%	22
123	King William County Public Schools	2,084	$13,537	36.4%	41.2%	21
124	Clarke County Public Schools	1,892	$14,369	27.7%	56.2%	21
125	York County Public Schools	12,640	$13,844	36.7%	37.8%	20
126	Spotsylvania County Public Schools	24,201	$13,858	54.5%	47.0%	19
127	Hanover County Public Schools	17,066	$13,035	27.0%	45.1%	19
128	New Kent County Public Schools	3,435	$13,400	26.1%	40.5%	19
129	Chesterfield County Public Schools	63,916	$12,776	51.2%	42.8%	17
130	Henrico County Public Schools	50,389	$12,973	62.4%	50.5%	15
131	Poquoson City Public Schools	2,055	$13,306	20.4%	41.4%	13

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 2022-23), 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 Virginia

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