Maricopa County · Arizona
Chandler, AZ public schools
Enrollment, school count, staffing and per-pupil spending for Chandler Unified District #80 (4242) — federal education data, not a star rating.

Quick answer
Chandler Unified District #80 (4242) is the primary public district for Chandler, AZ. It enrolls 43,716 students in 44 schools with 2,414 full-time-equivalent teachers, and spends $11,491 per pupil, 34% below the $17,320 median across the metros covered here.
- Students enrolled
- 43,716NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22
- Schools in the district
- 44Operating school count
- Students per teacher
- 18.1Enrollment ÷ FTE teachers, not class size
- Spending per pupil
- $11,491Total current expenditure, FY2020
Who pays for schools in Chandler
Where the district's money comes from, FY2020.
- Local revenue
- 44.3%
- $216,554,000
- State revenue
- 45.9%
- $224,362,000
- Federal revenue
- 9.8%
- $47,982,000
Local revenue is mostly property tax, which is why the Chandler property tax rate and school funding move together. Of every dollar spent, about 47 cents reaches instruction — teacher salaries, benefits and classroom materials — with the rest covering transport, buildings, food service and administration.
Reading the Chandler numbers
What the 2021-22 NCES and FY2020 Census finance numbers say about this district.
This is a low-spending district: $11,491 per pupil, 34% under the $17,320 median and near the bottom of the metros tracked here. Only 47 cents of each dollar ($5,425 per student) is classified as instruction, so a large share goes to support services, facilities and transport — common in districts with long bus routes or older buildings.
Funding is split roughly evenly — 44.3% local, 45.9% state — so both the local tax base and the AZ aid formula matter to what this district can spend. Federal aid contributes 9.8%, near the typical share for a large urban district.
43,716 students across 44 schools averages 994 students per building, and the district is smaller than the typical district covered here (44,998 students). Buildings that size skew secondary — large comprehensive high schools pull the average up. Staffing is thin relative to peers: 18.1 students per FTE teacher against a 15.2 median, 2.9 students more per teacher.
What this data covers
Read this before comparing districts.
Chandler Unified District #80 (4242) is a county-scale district, so its catchment reaches well past the Chandler city limits and these figures describe that wider area. Independently authorised charter schools, private schools and regional vocational programs are counted separately by NCES and are not in these totals. Enrollment is the 2021-22 NCES collection; dollars are the FY2020 Census F-33 survey, the latest complete national release. The two years differ, so per-pupil spending is a stable indicator rather than a live budget line.
More Chandler data
Other Chandler datasets on this site.
- Chandler population and income
- Chandler sales tax rate
- Chandler property tax
- Chandler cost of living
- Chandler home values and rent
- Chandler crime rates
- Chandler weather normals
- Chandler commute times
- Chandler jobs and wages
Statewide: Arizona cities · Arizona ZIP codes · Arizona sales tax · Arizona counties
NCES LEAID 0401870. Finance figures are Census Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) totals as redistributed by the Urban Institute Education Data API.