Digest of Education Statistics
2013 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 216.60. Number and percentage distribution of public school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, by school level, locale, and student race/ethnicity: 2011-12
School level, locale, and student race/ethnicity Number of students, by percent of students in school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch Percentage distribution of students, by percent of students in school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
Total1 0 to 25.0
percent
25.1 to 50.0
percent
50.1 to 75.0
percent
More than
75.0 percent
Missing/
school
does not
participate
Total1 0 to 25.0
percent
25.1 to 50.0
percent
50.1 to 75.0
percent
More than
75.0 percent
Missing/
school
does not
participate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Total2  49,246,537 11,678,363 13,614,098 12,413,272 9,285,370 2,255,434 100.0 23.7 27.6 25.2 18.9 4.6
White 25,464,162 7,804,648 8,968,907 6,317,536 1,695,747 677,324 100.0 30.6 35.2 24.8 6.7 2.7
Black 7,782,146 631,431 1,388,051 2,288,573 3,305,274 168,817 100.0 8.1 17.8 29.4 42.5 2.2
Hispanic 11,693,788 2,002,762 2,162,969 2,848,955 3,607,385 1,071,717 100.0 17.1 18.5 24.4 30.8 9.2
Asian 2,321,362 856,207 544,076 390,183 280,542 250,354 100.0 36.9 23.4 16.8 12.1 10.8
Pacific Islander 177,871 27,439 48,564 57,003 33,342 11,523 100.0 15.4 27.3 32.0 18.7 6.5
American Indian/Alaska Native 541,986 57,022 119,280 172,209 175,497 17,978 100.0 10.5 22.0 31.8 32.4 3.3
Two or more races 1,265,222 298,854 382,251 338,813 187,583 57,721 100.0 23.6 30.2 26.8 14.8 4.6
                         
School level3                         
Elementary4 31,717,202 6,660,632 7,852,571 8,276,587 7,362,003 1,565,409 100.0 21.0 24.8 26.1 23.2 4.9
White 15,970,296 4,512,750 5,158,147 4,435,042 1,396,393 467,964 100.0 28.3 32.3 27.8 8.7 2.9
Black 5,004,691 322,713 738,813 1,337,712 2,498,820 106,633 100.0 6.4 14.8 26.7 49.9 2.1
Hispanic 7,912,171 1,089,716 1,292,413 1,854,924 2,918,862 756,256 100.0 13.8 16.3 23.4 36.9 9.6
Asian 1,486,189 508,973 327,774 249,749 228,824 170,869 100.0 34.2 22.1 16.8 15.4 11.5
Pacific Islander 113,788 14,053 27,055 36,954 27,753 7,973 100.0 12.4 23.8 32.5 24.4 7.0
American Indian/Alaska Native 337,592 26,465 61,999 107,791 129,683 11,654 100.0 7.8 18.4 31.9 38.4 3.5
Two or more races 892,475 185,962 246,370 254,415 161,668 44,060 100.0 20.8 27.6 28.5 18.1 4.9
                         
Secondary5 15,707,083 4,653,034 5,346,143 3,571,345 1,522,986 613,575 100.0 29.6 34.0 22.7 9.7 3.9
White 8,525,394 3,064,111 3,516,648 1,557,710 217,404 169,521 100.0 35.9 41.2 18.3 2.6 2.0
Black 2,397,330 275,224 609,573 831,892 627,422 53,219 100.0 11.5 25.4 34.7 26.2 2.2
Hispanic 3,436,091 843,483 815,041 904,255 577,383 295,929 100.0 24.5 23.7 26.3 16.8 8.6
Asian 785,828 330,292 204,696 130,925 45,007 74,908 100.0 42.0 26.0 16.7 5.7 9.5
Pacific Islander 56,882 11,998 20,177 17,837 3,553 3,317 100.0 21.1 35.5 31.4 6.2 5.8
American Indian/Alaska Native 171,468 26,338 53,341 53,681 32,673 5,435 100.0 15.4 31.1 31.3 19.1 3.2
Two or more races 334,090 101,588 126,667 75,045 19,544 11,246 100.0 30.4 37.9 22.5 5.8 3.4
                         
School locale                        
City 14,455,742 2,214,184 2,894,396 3,351,632 4,981,631 1,013,899 100.0 15.3 20.0 23.2 34.5 7.0
White 4,298,097 1,004,161 1,400,675 1,099,054 592,086 202,121 100.0 23.4 32.6 25.6 13.8 4.7
Black 3,587,853 165,838 438,074 890,952 2,001,853 91,136 100.0 4.6 12.2 24.8 55.8 2.5
Hispanic 5,048,972 712,474 727,342 1,014,983 2,040,145 554,028 100.0 14.1 14.4 20.1 40.4 11.0
Asian 966,988 238,902 199,237 197,661 198,996 132,192 100.0 24.7 20.6 20.4 20.6 13.7
Pacific Islander 55,598 8,400 10,471 16,320 14,213 6,194 100.0 15.1 18.8 29.4 25.6 11.1
American Indian/Alaska Native 111,356 14,108 24,559 28,953 37,558 6,178 100.0 12.7 22.1 26.0 33.7 5.5
Two or more races 386,878 70,301 94,038 103,709 96,780 22,050 100.0 18.2 24.3 26.8 25.0 5.7
                         
Suburban 16,708,249 5,930,996 4,543,796 3,246,184 2,157,807 829,466 100.0 35.5 27.2 19.4 12.9 5.0
White 8,764,170 4,115,677 2,737,558 1,286,883 353,717 270,335 100.0 47.0 31.2 14.7 4.0 3.1
Black 2,366,886 316,916 566,794 743,915 681,776 57,485 100.0 13.4 23.9 31.4 28.8 2.4
Hispanic 3,970,435 848,384 810,674 946,467 990,320 374,590 100.0 21.4 20.4 23.8 24.9 9.4
Asian 992,871 470,160 234,197 129,502 63,749 95,263 100.0 47.4 23.6 13.0 6.4 9.6
Pacific Islander 68,843 13,582 20,979 19,237 10,849 4,196 100.0 19.7 30.5 27.9 15.8 6.1
American Indian/Alaska Native 80,492 18,338 26,311 20,514 11,653 3,676 100.0 22.8 32.7 25.5 14.5 4.6
Two or more races 464,552 147,939 147,283 99,666 45,743 23,921 100.0 31.8 31.7 21.5 9.8 5.1
                         
Town 5,669,091 641,767 1,913,333 2,097,415 874,924 141,652 100.0 11.3 33.8 37.0 15.4 2.5
White 3,712,133 482,262 1,525,600 1,365,587 275,645 63,039 100.0 13.0 41.1 36.8 7.4 1.7
Black 591,443 15,662 83,614 221,313 266,386 4,468 100.0 2.6 14.1 37.4 45.0 0.8
Hispanic 1,006,234 110,870 194,674 365,937 271,329 63,424 100.0 11.0 19.3 36.4 27.0 6.3
Asian 83,356 12,489 31,978 27,308 7,833 3,748 100.0 15.0 38.4 32.8 9.4 4.5
Pacific Islander 26,016 1,035 7,459 13,949 3,258 315 100.0 4.0 28.7 53.6 12.5 1.2
American Indian/Alaska Native 114,719 7,187 26,677 47,366 30,166 3,323 100.0 6.3 23.3 41.3 26.3 2.9
Two or more races 135,190 12,262 43,331 55,955 20,307 3,335 100.0 9.1 32.1 41.4 15.0 2.5
                         
Rural 12,413,455 2,891,416 4,262,573 3,718,041 1,271,008 270,417 100.0 23.3 34.3 30.0 10.2 2.2
White 8,689,762 2,202,548 3,305,074 2,566,012 474,299 141,829 100.0 25.3 38.0 29.5 5.5 1.6
Black 1,235,964 133,015 299,569 432,393 355,259 15,728 100.0 10.8 24.2 35.0 28.7 1.3
Hispanic 1,668,147 331,034 430,279 521,568 305,591 79,675 100.0 19.8 25.8 31.3 18.3 4.8
Asian 278,147 134,656 78,664 35,712 9,964 19,151 100.0 48.4 28.3 12.8 3.6 6.9
Pacific Islander 27,414 4,422 9,655 7,497 5,022 818 100.0 16.1 35.2 27.3 18.3 3.0
American Indian/Alaska Native 235,419 17,389 41,733 75,376 96,120 4,801 100.0 7.4 17.7 32.0 40.8 2.0
Two or more races 278,602 68,352 97,599 79,483 24,753 8,415 100.0 24.5 35.0 28.5 8.9 3.0
1 Includes students enrolled in schools that did not report free or reduced-price lunch eligibility.
2 Excludes 9,583 students whose race/ethnicity was not available. Includes students who attended combined elementary/secondary schools and schools not reported by grade span, which are not shown separately.
3 Combined elementary/secondary schools and schools not reported by grade span are not shown separately.
4 Includes schools beginning with grade 6 or below and with no grade higher than 8.
5 Includes schools with no grade lower than 7.
NOTE: The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program. To be eligible for free lunch under the program, a student must be from a household with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty threshold; to be eligible for reduced-price lunch, a student must be from a household with an income between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty threshold. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," 2011–12. (This table was prepared March 2014.)

2013 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest