District profile / Alabama

Tuscaloosa County

Tuscaloosa, Alabama · Public school district · #9 of 129 Alabama districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

19,278

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$10,066

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 6% below the Alabama median

17.2

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Alabama median 17.1

Tuscaloosa County is a public school district based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, serving 19,278 students in 36 schools. By enrollment it ranks #9 of the 129 Alabama districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 94% of them. Its schools average 536 students each, more than the Alabama median of 452. It spends about $10,066 per student on day-to-day operations, 6% less than the Alabama median. It has roughly 17.2 students per teacher.

How Tuscaloosa County compares

Tuscaloosa CountyAlabama median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$10,066

Alabama median $10,671 · 6% below · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$6,272

Alabama median $6,303 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school536

Alabama median 452 · 19% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher17.2

Alabama median 17.1 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor410

Alabama median 399 · about the same · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$219.4 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 15%State 59%Local 26%

Measure	Tuscaloosa County	Alabama median	Year
Current spending per student	$10,066	$10,671	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$6,272	$6,303	FY2020-21
Total spending	$221.7 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$219.4 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	1,118	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	1,908	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	17.2	17.1	2024-25
Students per counselor	410	399	2024-25

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Alabama median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

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Peer districts in Alabama

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Birmingham CityBirmingham	20,954	49	$12,272	19.2	#6
Madison CountyHuntsville	20,691	30	$9,622	18.4	#7
Shelby CountyColumbiana	20,638	33	$10,951	16.2	#8
Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa · this district	19,278	36	$10,066	17.2	#9
Limestone CountyAthens	16,497	16	$7,712	31.5	#10

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Redlands UnifiedRedlands, CA	19,310	$13,906	21.9
Dearborn City School DistrictDearborn, MI	19,262	$13,709	14.8
Rockwall ISDRockwall, TX	19,235	$9,274	16.1
Montebello UnifiedMontebello, CA	19,195	$17,377	20.2

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-al-tuscaloosa-county