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

No. Use the Cedar 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 Cedar 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 Cedar County?

Start with the 12 listed public schools and 5 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Cedar County Schools & Education

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

Cedar County, Iowa

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

School Score

50/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,364

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

50/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

#83

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Cedar County

Measured School Summary

Cedar County performs at an average level with a school score of 50/100 and a solid graduation rate of 90.0%.

Funding Context

At $7,364 per pupil, Cedar County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 18% below the Iowa average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 2.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 3% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Cedar 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

12 public schools and 5 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

50/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #83 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

90.0%

2.3 pts below the state average

Funding context

$7,364

$227 below the state average

School coverage

5 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

Cedar County has 12 public schools across 5 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 Cedar 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.

Mixed school landscape

Cedar County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#83

of 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 11 points below 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.

Tipton Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

941 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

West Branch Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

871 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Durant Comm School District

Elementary and high visible

683 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

North Cedar Comm School District

Elementary and high visible

631 students

Elementary 2Middle 0High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

North Cedar Comm School District 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 Cedar County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Cedar 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 Cedar County, Iowa

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.

Diverse Districts Serving Every Corner

Cedar County manages 12 public schools across five different districts, providing tailored education for 3,212 students. The county’s infrastructure is built on six elementary, two middle, and four high schools.

Tipton and West Branch Lead Growth

Tipton Community School District is the largest with 941 students, followed by West Branch at 871. These traditional districts account for all schooling in the county, as there are no charter schools.

A Quintessential Rural Learning Experience

Eleven of the 12 schools are in rural settings, fostering a classic Iowa educational feel with an average of 268 students per school. Hoover Elementary in West Branch is the largest school, welcoming 370 students each day.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Cedar County

Reported Enrollment

3,212

12 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary6

Middle2

High4

Other0

5 School Districts in Cedar County

Tipton Comm School District

3 schools

941 students

West Branch Comm School District

3 schools

871 students

Durant Comm School District

2 schools

683 students

North Cedar Comm School District

3 schools

631 students

Bennett Comm School District

1 school

86 students

12 Public Schools in Cedar 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

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Level

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Showing 12 of 12 matching schools

Public schools in Cedar County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Hoover Elementary School	Record	West Branch Comm School District	West Branch, 52358Rural: Distant	PK–4	Primary	370
Durant Elementary School	Record	Durant Comm School District	Durant, 52747Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	343
Durant Junior/Senior High School	Record	Durant Comm School District	Durant, 52747Rural: Distant	7–12	High	340
Tipton Elementary School	Record	Tipton Comm School District	Tipton, 52772Rural: Fringe	PK–4	Primary	339
Tipton High School	Record	Tipton Comm School District	Tipton, 52772Town: Distant	9–12	High	310
North Cedar Jr/Sr High School	Record	North Cedar Comm School District	Clarence, 52216Rural: Distant	7–12	High	294
Tipton Middle School	Record	Tipton Comm School District	Tipton, 52772Rural: Fringe	5–8	Middle	292
West Branch Middle School	Record	West Branch Comm School District	West Branch, 52358Rural: Distant	5–8	Middle	257
West Branch High School	Record	West Branch Comm School District	West Branch, 52358Rural: Distant	9–12	High	244
North Cedar Lowden Elementary Center	Record	North Cedar Comm School District	Lowden, 52255Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	178
North Cedar Mechanicsville Elem Ctr	Record	North Cedar Comm School District	Mechanicsville, 52306Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	159
Bennett Elementary School	Record	Bennett Comm School District	Bennett, 52721Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	86

Hoover Elementary School

West Branch Comm School District

West Branch, 52358 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–4Primary370 students

Durant Elementary School

Durant Comm School District

Durant, 52747 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary343 students

Durant Junior/Senior High School

Durant Comm School District

Durant, 52747 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High340 students

Tipton Elementary School

Tipton Comm School District

Tipton, 52772 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–4Primary339 students

Tipton High School

Tipton Comm School District

Tipton, 52772 / Town: Distant

Record9–12High310 students

North Cedar Jr/Sr High School

North Cedar Comm School District

Clarence, 52216 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High294 students

Tipton Middle School

Tipton Comm School District

Tipton, 52772 / Rural: Fringe

Record5–8Middle292 students

West Branch Middle School

West Branch Comm School District

West Branch, 52358 / Rural: Distant

Record5–8Middle257 students

West Branch High School

West Branch Comm School District

West Branch, 52358 / Rural: Distant

Record9–12High244 students

North Cedar Lowden Elementary Center

North Cedar Comm School District

Lowden, 52255 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary178 students

North Cedar Mechanicsville Elem Ctr

North Cedar Comm School District

Mechanicsville, 52306 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary159 students

Bennett Elementary School

Bennett Comm School District

Bennett, 52721 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary86 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,364

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Cedar 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 Iowa counties have the highest graduation rates?

Dallas County (97.3%), Clay County (97.0%), and Davis County (97.0%) currently lead Iowa 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 Iowa?

Across Iowa counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,591. The highest current county values are Kossuth County ($8,712), Cerro Gordo County ($8,682), and Franklin County ($8,627). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Cedar County?

Cedar County has a school score of 50/100, 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 Cedar County?

The high school graduation rate in Cedar County is 90.0%, 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 Cedar County spend per student?

Cedar County spends $7,364 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 Cedar County, Iowa — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Cedar County, Iowa?

What are the major school districts in Cedar County, Iowa?

What is the school experience like in Cedar County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Clinton County

Iowa

-1 pts

49/100

School score

Marshall County

Iowa

+1 pts

51/100

School score

Sioux County

Iowa

-1 pts

49/100

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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