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

No. Use the Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson County?

Start with the 9 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Dickinson County Schools & Education

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

Dickinson County, Iowa

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

School Score

67/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

96.2%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

96.2%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,036

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

67/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

#37

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Dickinson County

Measured School Summary

Dickinson County performs at an average level with a school score of 67/100 and a solid graduation rate of 96.2%.

Funding Context

At $7,036 per pupil, Dickinson County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 9% above the Iowa average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 3.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 7% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Dickinson 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

9 public schools and 3 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

67/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #37 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

96.2%

3.9 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,036

$555 below the state average

School coverage

3 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

Dickinson County has 9 public schools across 3 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 Dickinson 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

Dickinson 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

#37

of 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 6 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.

Spirit Lake Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,304 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Okoboji Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,244 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Harris-Lake Park Comm School District

Elementary and high visible

332 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Okoboji 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 Dickinson County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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.

A Small-Town Learning Environment

Six of the county's schools are located in towns, while three are rural, with an average enrollment of 336 students. Spirit Lake Elementary is the largest school in the area, housing 537 students.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Dickinson County

Reported Enrollment

3,027

9 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary4

Middle2

High3

Other0

3 School Districts in Dickinson County

Spirit Lake Comm School District

3 schools

1,304 students

Okoboji Comm School District

3 schools

1,244 students

Harris-Lake Park Comm School District

2 schools

332 students

9 Public Schools in Dickinson 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 9 of 9 matching schools

Public schools in Dickinson County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Spirit Lake Elementary School	Record	Spirit Lake Comm School District	Spirit Lake, 51360Town: Remote	PK–4	Primary	537
Okoboji Elementary School	Record	Okoboji Comm School District	Milford, 51351Town: Remote	PK–4	Primary	533
Spirit Lake High School	Record	Spirit Lake Comm School District	Spirit Lake, 51360Town: Remote	9–12	High	409
Okoboji High School	Record	Okoboji Comm School District	Milford, 51351Town: Remote	9–12	High	365
Spirit Lake Middle School	Record	Spirit Lake Comm School District	Spirit Lake, 51360Town: Remote	5–8	Middle	358
Okoboji Middle School	Record	Okoboji Comm School District	Milford, 51351Town: Remote	5–8	Middle	346
Harris-Lake Park Elementary School	Record	Harris-Lake Park Comm School District	Lake Park, 51347Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	172
Harris-Lake Park High School	Record	Harris-Lake Park Comm School District	Lake Park, 51347Rural: Distant	6–12	High	160
Graettinger-Terril Elementary School	Record	Graettinger-Terril Comm School District	Terril, 51364Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	147

Spirit Lake Elementary School

Spirit Lake Comm School District

Spirit Lake, 51360 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–4Primary537 students

Okoboji Elementary School

Okoboji Comm School District

Milford, 51351 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–4Primary533 students

Spirit Lake High School

Spirit Lake Comm School District

Spirit Lake, 51360 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High409 students

Okoboji High School

Okoboji Comm School District

Milford, 51351 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High365 students

Spirit Lake Middle School

Spirit Lake Comm School District

Spirit Lake, 51360 / Town: Remote

Record5–8Middle358 students

Okoboji Middle School

Okoboji Comm School District

Milford, 51351 / Town: Remote

Record5–8Middle346 students

Harris-Lake Park Elementary School

Harris-Lake Park Comm School District

Lake Park, 51347 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary172 students

Harris-Lake Park High School

Harris-Lake Park Comm School District

Lake Park, 51347 / Rural: Distant

Record6–12High160 students

Graettinger-Terril Elementary School

Graettinger-Terril Comm School District

Terril, 51364 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary147 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,036

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Dickinson 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 Dickinson County?

Dickinson County has a school score of 67/100, 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 Dickinson County?

The high school graduation rate in Dickinson County is 96.2%, 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 Dickinson County spend per student?

Dickinson County spends $7,036 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 Dickinson County, Iowa — FAQ

What is the school experience like in Dickinson County?

Six of the county's schools are located in towns, while three are rural, with an average enrollment of 336 students. Spirit Lake Elementary is the largest school in the area, housing 537 students.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Pocahontas County

Iowa

-0 pts

66/100

School score

Lyon County

Iowa

+0 pts

67/100

School score

Jefferson County

Iowa

-1 pts

66/100

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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