Can I use Gunnison County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Gunnison County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Gunnison County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Gunnison County?

Start with the 7 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Gunnison County Schools & Education

Name: Gunnison County, Colorado Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Gunnison County, Colorado

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

56/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 83.1%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,208

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,447

School Score

56/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 36/100

State Score Position

of 63 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Gunnison County

Measured School Summary

Gunnison County performs at an average level with a school score of 56/100 and a solid graduation rate of 92.0%.

Funding Context

At $7,208 per pupil, Gunnison County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 54% above the Colorado average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 8.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 3% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Gunnison County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

7 public schools and 1 district are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

56/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #8 of 63 Colorado counties with school score data.

Completion

92.0%

8.9 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,208

$239 below the state average

School coverage

1 district represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county needs a closer look at district mix, school level, and local context. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Gunnison County has 7 public schools across 1 district, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Gunnison County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Small-system county

Gunnison County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

of 63 Colorado counties with school score data. The county score is 20 points above the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

Elementary to high school visible

2,061 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 2Other 2

7 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J is the largest listed district slice, with 7 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Gunnison County?

Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Gunnison County Graduation Rate Exceeds State and National Benchmarks

Education data brief for Gunnison County, Colorado.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Gunnison County reports a graduation rate of 92.0%, which is five percentage points higher than the national average of 87.0% and nearly nine points above the Colorado average of 83.1%. All 2,061 students in the county are served by a single consolidated entity, the Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J. The district operates seven schools, including one charter school that accounts for 14.3% of the county's educational landscape. Gunnison Elementary School is the largest campus, enrolling 521 students. While graduation outcomes are high, the county’s per-pupil expenditure of $7,208 is lower than the state average of $7,447 and far below the national spending level of $13,000. The county’s composite school score of 55.6 also stands above the national median of 50.0. Most schools are located in rural or town settings. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Gunnison County

Reported Enrollment

2,061

7 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

14% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle1

High2

Other2

1 School District in Gunnison County

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

7 schools

2,061 students enrolled

7 Public Schools in Gunnison County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

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Showing 7 of 7 matching schools

Public schools in Gunnison County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Gunnison Elementary School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	GUNNISON, 81230Rural: Fringe	PK–5	Primary	521
Crested Butte Secondary School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	CRESTED BUTTE, 81224Rural: Remote	6–12	High	400
Gunnison High School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	GUNNISON, 81230Town: Remote	9–12	High	396
Crested Butte Elementary School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	CRESTED BUTTE, 81224Rural: Remote	KG–5	Primary	328
Gunnison Middle School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	GUNNISON, 81230Rural: Fringe	6–8	Middle	288
Lake Preschool	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	GUNNISON, 81230Town: Remote	PK	Other	73
Marble Charter School	Record	Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J	MARBLE, 81623Rural: Remote	KG–10	Charter	55

Gunnison Elementary School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

GUNNISON, 81230 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–5Primary521 students

Crested Butte Secondary School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

CRESTED BUTTE, 81224 / Rural: Remote

Record6–12High400 students

Gunnison High School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

GUNNISON, 81230 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High396 students

Crested Butte Elementary School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

CRESTED BUTTE, 81224 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–5Primary328 students

Gunnison Middle School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

GUNNISON, 81230 / Rural: Fringe

Record6–8Middle288 students

Lake Preschool

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

GUNNISON, 81230 / Town: Remote

RecordPKOther73 students

Marble Charter School

Gunnison Watershed School District Re1J

MARBLE, 81623 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–10Charter55 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,208

State avg $7,447

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Gunnison County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Colorado counties have the highest graduation rates?

Pitkin County (97.0%), Rio Blanco County (93.2%), and Routt County (93.2%) currently lead Colorado among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Colorado?

Across Colorado counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,447. The highest current county values are Mineral County ($13,728), San Juan County ($13,639), and Hinsdale County ($13,446). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Gunnison County?

Gunnison County has a school score of 56/100, which is a midrange measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Gunnison County?

The high school graduation rate in Gunnison County is 92.0%, which is above the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Gunnison County spend per student?

Gunnison County spends $7,208 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Ouray County

Colorado

0 pts

56/100

School score

Huerfano County

Colorado

+2 pts

57/100

School score

Summit County

Colorado

-2 pts

53/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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