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

No. Use the Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Shelby County Schools & Education

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

Shelby County, Iowa

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

School Score

76/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Higher Signal

Graduation Rate

96.5%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

96.5%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,760

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

76/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Shelby County

Measured School Summary

Shelby County has a higher measured school signal with a school score of 76/100 and a graduation rate of 96.5%, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-score inputs.

Funding Context

At $7,760 per pupil, Shelby County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 25% above the Iowa average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 4.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 2% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Shelby 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 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

76/100

Higher measured signal. Ranks #4 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

96.5%

4.2 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,760

$169 above the state average

School coverage

3 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county screens well on the combined school metrics available here. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Shelby County has 6 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 Shelby 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.

Dominant-district county

Harlan Comm School District carries most of the listed public-school system, with 4 of 6 schools. Start there, then verify whether your target address sits inside that district slice.

State position

of 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 15 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.

Harlan Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,498 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

IKM-Manning Comm School District

Elementary school only in this slice

230 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 0Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

Exira-Elk Horn- Kimballton Comm Sch Dist

High school only in this slice

196 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 1Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

Harlan Comm School District is the largest listed district slice, with 4 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 Shelby County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Shelby 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?

Data Story

Shelby County Graduation Rate Reaches 96.5 Percent

Education data brief for Shelby County, Iowa.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

The graduation rate in Shelby County is 96.5%, nearly 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 87.0% and above the Iowa state average of 92.3%. The county's school system comprises six public schools across three districts, with the Harlan Community School District being the largest, enrolling 1,498 of the county's 1,924 students. Harlan High School is the largest individual facility with 477 students. The educational environment is primarily composed of town and rural locales, with no charter schools present. The county's composite school score is 76.2, which stands well above the state average of 61.3. Funding is reported at $7,760 per pupil, slightly exceeding the state average of $7,591 but remaining lower than the national benchmark of $13,000. Review the NCES directory for specific information on school types and locales.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Shelby County

Reported Enrollment

1,924

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High2

Other0

3 School Districts in Shelby County

Harlan Comm School District

4 schools

1,498 students

IKM-Manning Comm School District

3 schools

710 students

Exira-Elk Horn- Kimballton Comm Sch Dist

2 schools

394 students

6 Public Schools in Shelby 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

Sort

Showing 6 of 6 matching schools

Public schools in Shelby County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Harlan High School	Record	Harlan Comm School District	Harlan, 51537Town: Distant	9–12	High	477
Harlan Primary	Record	Harlan Comm School District	Harlan, 51537Town: Distant	PK–2	Primary	369
Harlan Community Middle School	Record	Harlan Comm School District	Harlan, 51537Town: Distant	6–8	Middle	342
Harlan Intermediate School	Record	Harlan Comm School District	Harlan, 51537Town: Distant	3–5	Primary	310
Irwin Elementary School	Record	IKM-Manning Comm School District	Irwin, 51446Rural: Remote	PK–3	Primary	230
ExiraElk Horn-Kimballton High School	Record	Exira-Elk Horn- Kimballton Comm Sch Dist	Elk Horn, 51531Rural: Remote	6–12	High	196

Harlan High School

Harlan Comm School District

Harlan, 51537 / Town: Distant

Record9–12High477 students

Harlan Primary

Harlan Comm School District

Harlan, 51537 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–2Primary369 students

Harlan Community Middle School

Harlan Comm School District

Harlan, 51537 / Town: Distant

Record6–8Middle342 students

Harlan Intermediate School

Harlan Comm School District

Harlan, 51537 / Town: Distant

Record3–5Primary310 students

Irwin Elementary School

IKM-Manning Comm School District

Irwin, 51446 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–3Primary230 students

ExiraElk Horn-Kimballton High School

Exira-Elk Horn- Kimballton Comm Sch Dist

Elk Horn, 51531 / Rural: Remote

Record6–12High196 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,760

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Shelby 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 Shelby County?

Shelby County has a school score of 76/100, which is a higher 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 Shelby County?

The high school graduation rate in Shelby County is 96.5%, 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 Shelby County spend per student?

Shelby County spends $7,760 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

Chickasaw County

Iowa

-1 pts

76/100

School score

Delaware County

Iowa

-1 pts

75/100

School score

Monona County

Iowa

-1 pts

75/100

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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