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Iowa
Public School Ratings






Iowa Public Schools

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:
  • Test Scores: Edfacts (U.S. Department of Education), State departments of education.
  • Expenditures: National Center for Education Statistics.
  • Educational Environment: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau).
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Test data: Reflects 2023 – 2024 school year.
  • Expenditures: 2022
  • Educational Environment: 2023 (latest available). Updated annually.
  • All data updated June 2025

Methodology:   Only NeighborhoodScout gives you nationally comparable school ranks based on test scores, so you can directly compare the quality of schools in any location. Read more about Scout's School Data

Overview

Public Schools Overview Iowa School Districts by City
Number Of Students 508,404
Number Of Iowa Schools 1,342
Number Of Iowa School Districts 341
Spending Per Student $16,800

State Test Scores

Reading/English Language Arts Tests

80 60 40 20 0
64%
73%
69%
74%
77%
77%
75%
74%
70%
    3rd Grade
    4th Grade
    5th Grade
    6th Grade
    7th Grade
    8th Grade
    9th Grade
    10th Grade
    11th Grade
Reading Proficiency

Math Test

80 60 40 20 0
76%
72%
70%
71%
69%
73%
63%
66%
65%
    3rd Grade
    4th Grade
    5th Grade
    6th Grade
    7th Grade
    8th Grade
    9th Grade
    10th Grade
    11th Grade
Math Proficiency

School enrollment by group

Ethnic/Racial Groups This State Nation
White (non-hispanic) 75.0% 46.7%
Black 7.5% 15.8%
Hispanic 13.7% 30.1%
Asian Or Pacific Islander 2.6% 6.0%
American Indian Or Native Of Alaska 1.1% 1.4%
Special Needs Groups This State Nation
Economically Disadvantaged 40.8% 51.9%
English Language Learners 6.2% 10.0%
Students With Disabilities 13.7% 14.9%

Class Size (number of students per classroom teacher)

17.5 15 12.5 10 7.5 5 2.5 0
14.2
15.9
    AVG FOR STATE
    AVG FOR NATION

Iowa Education Environment

Population State Nation
Population 3,207,004 334,914,895
Population Density (per sq. mile) 57 93
Population distribution by age STATE NATION
4 Years Old And Below 5.9% 5.7%
5-19 Years Old 20.1% 19.1%
20-44 Years Old 32.0% 33.3%
45-64 Years Old 24.2% 25.1%
65 Or Older 17.8% 16.8%
HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS STATE NATION
Number Of Households 1,303,763 120,745,577
Single Parent Households With Children 7.8% 8.3%
Adults With At Least A High School Diploma 93.2% 89.4%
Adults With At Least A Bachelor's Degree 30.9% 34.9%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION STATE NATION
$150,000 or more 16.3% 22.0%
$100,000 - $149,999 18.4% 17.4%
$75,000 - $99,999 14.1% 12.7%
$50,000 - $74,999 17.8% 15.7%
$30,000 - $49,999 15.4% 13.8%
$15,000 - $29,999 10.5% 10.0%
$15,000 or less 7.4% 8.4%

Education Expenditures

For the State Per Student Total % of Total
Instructional Expenditures $7,867 $3,999,465,000 46.8%
Support Expenditures
Student $827 $420,541,000 4.9%
Staff $865 $439,588,000 5.1%
General Administration $335 $170,522,000 2.0%
School Administration $765 $388,681,000 4.6%
Operation $1,213 $616,942,000 7.2%
Transportation $481 $244,434,000 2.9%
Other $419 $213,166,000 2.5%
Total Support $4,905 $2,493,874,000 29.2%
Non-instructional Expenditures $4,028 $2,048,038,000 24.0%
Total Expenditures $16,800 $8,541,377,000 100.0%
For the Nation Per Student Total % of Total
Instructional Expenditures $9,169 $453,314,948,000 49.6%
Support Expenditures
Student $1,031 $50,976,033,477 5.6%
Staff $799 $39,519,417,000 4.3%
General Administration $308 $15,224,255,000 1.7%
School Administration $850 $42,029,112,000 4.6%
Operation $1,430 $70,704,769,000 7.7%
Transportation $613 $30,295,759,523 3.3%
Other $623 $30,798,344,000 3.4%
Total Support $5,654 $279,547,690,000 30.6%
Non-instructional Expenditures $3,675 $181,697,172,000 19.9%
Total Expenditures $18,499 $914,559,810,000 100.0%

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