District profile / Washington

Tacoma School District

Tacoma, Washington · Public school district · #4 of 150 Washington districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

28,847

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$15,922

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 7% above the Washington median

18.8

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Washington median 18.3

Tacoma School District is a public school district based in Tacoma, Washington, serving 28,847 students in 67 schools. By enrollment it ranks #4 of the 150 Washington districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 98% of them. Its schools average 431 students each, about the same as the Washington median of 435. It spends about $15,922 per student on day-to-day operations, 7% more than the Washington median. It has roughly 18.8 students per teacher.

How Tacoma compares

TacomaWashington median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$15,922

Washington median $14,904 · 7% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$9,024

Washington median $8,883 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school431

Washington median 435 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per teacher18.8

Washington median 18.3 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor324

Washington median 368 · 12% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$565.3 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 12%State 59%Local 30%

Measure	Tacoma	Washington median	Year
Current spending per student	$15,922	$14,904	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$9,024	$8,883	FY2020-21
Total spending	$576.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$565.3 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	1,538	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	3,216	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	18.8	18.3	2024-25
Students per counselor	324	368	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 Washington median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

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Peer districts in Washington

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Lake Washington School DistrictRedmond	30,986	57	$14,782	17.9	#2
Spokane School DistrictSpokane	28,853	68	$15,579	14.8	#3
Tacoma School DistrictTacoma · this district	28,847	67	$15,922	18.8	#4
Kent School DistrictKent	25,358	46	$15,847	18.0	#5
Puyallup School DistrictPuyallup	23,026	37	$14,217	18.8	#6

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Richmond CountyAugusta, GA	28,923	$11,826	14.4
Richland 02Columbia, SC	28,841	$12,557	13.8
Visalia UnifiedVisalia, CA	28,809	$12,738	21.5
San Ramon Valley UnifiedDanville, CA	28,615	$12,168	22.4

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-wa-tacoma-school-district