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

No. Use the Ouray 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 Ouray 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 Ouray County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Ouray County Schools & Education

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

Ouray 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

85.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

85.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 83.1%

Per-Pupil Spending

$10,008

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: Ouray County

Measured School Summary

Ouray County performs at an average level with a school score of 56/100 and a solid graduation rate of 85.0%.

Funding Context

Ouray County spends $10,008 per student, which is on the lower end of adequate and may require careful resource allocation to maintain quality.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 54% above the Colorado average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 1.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 34% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Ouray 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

6 public schools and 2 districts 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 #9 of 63 Colorado counties with school score data.

Completion

85.0%

1.9 pts above the state average

Funding context

$10,008

$2,561 above the state average

School coverage

2 districts 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

Ouray County has 6 public schools across 2 districts, 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 Ouray 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

Ouray 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.

Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a

Elementary to high school visible

332 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and

Elementary to high school visible

177 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and is the largest listed district slice, with 3 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 Ouray County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Ouray County district systems?

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

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

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

Education Overview

About Schools in Ouray County, Colorado

This context is screened for neutral school-data wording and should be read alongside the current metrics on this page. It is not school advice.

Small-Scale Education with Big Results

Ouray County features a highly personalized educational environment with only 6 schools serving 509 students. These schools are split between two districts, Ridgway and Ouray, ensuring a high level of community involvement.

Ridgway and Ouray Districts Compared

The Ridgway School District is the larger of the two, educating 332 students across three campuses. Both districts focus exclusively on traditional public education with no charter schools in the county.

Purely Rural and Highly Personal

Every school in Ouray County is classified as rural, creating an incredibly tight-knit atmosphere. The average school size is just 85 students, with Ridgway Elementary being the largest campus at 151 students.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Ouray County

Reported Enrollment

509

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle2

High2

Other0

2 School Districts in Ouray County

Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a

3 schools

332 students

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and

3 schools

177 students

6 Public Schools in Ouray 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 6 of 6 matching schools

Public schools in Ouray County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Ridgway Elementary School	Record	Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a	RIDGWAY, 81432Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	151
Ridgway High School	Record	Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a	RIDGWAY, 81432Rural: Remote	9–12	High	107
Ouray Elementary School	Record	Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and	OURAY, 81427Rural: Remote	PK–4	Primary	81
Ridgway Middle School	Record	Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a	RIDGWAY, 81432Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	74
Ouray Middle School	Record	Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and	OURAY, 81427Rural: Remote	5–8	Middle	56
Ouray Senior High School	Record	Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and	OURAY, 81427Rural: Remote	9–12	High	40

Ridgway Elementary School

Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a

RIDGWAY, 81432 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary151 students

Ridgway High School

Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a

RIDGWAY, 81432 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High107 students

Ouray Elementary School

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and

OURAY, 81427 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–4Primary81 students

Ridgway Middle School

Ridgway School District No. R-2 of the county of Ouray a

RIDGWAY, 81432 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle74 students

Ouray Middle School

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and

OURAY, 81427 / Rural: Remote

Record5–8Middle56 students

Ouray Senior High School

Ouray School District No. R-1 of the county of Ouray and

OURAY, 81427 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High40 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$10,008

State avg $7,447

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Ouray 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 Ouray County?

Ouray 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 Ouray County?

The high school graduation rate in Ouray County is 85.0%, which is below 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 Ouray County spend per student?

Ouray County spends $10,008 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools in Ouray County, Colorado — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Ouray County, Colorado?

What are the major school districts in Ouray County, Colorado?

What is the school experience like in Ouray County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Gunnison 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 May 13, 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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