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

No. Use the Story 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 Story 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 Story County?

Start with the 26 listed public schools and 7 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Story County Schools & Education

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

Story County, Iowa

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

School Score

70/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

95.2%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

95.2%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,393

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

70/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

#23

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Story County

Measured School Summary

Story County performs at an average level with a school score of 70/100 and a solid graduation rate of 95.2%.

Funding Context

At $7,393 per pupil, Story County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 14% above the Iowa average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 2.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 3% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Story 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

26 public schools and 7 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

70/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #23 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

95.2%

2.9 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,393

$198 below the state average

School coverage

7 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

Story County has 26 public schools across 7 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 Story 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

Story 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

#23

of 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 9 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.

Ames Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

4,645 students

Elementary 6Middle 1High 1Other 0

8 listed schools in this county slice.

Ballard Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,871 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

Gilbert Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,697 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

Nevada Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,542 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Ames Comm School District is the largest listed district slice, with 8 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 Story County?

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

Story County Graduation Rate Surpasses National Benchmark

Education data brief for Story County, Iowa.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Story County reports a graduation rate of 95.2%, significantly higher than the national average of 87.0% and the Iowa state average of 92.3%. The county encompasses 26 public schools across seven districts, with a total enrollment of 11,679 students. The largest district is the Ames Community School District, which serves 4,645 students, including 1,403 at Ames High School. The school locales are diverse, featuring a mix of city, rural, and town settings. The county's composite school score is 69.5, higher than the state average of 61.3. Per-pupil spending in Story County is $7,393, which is below the state average of $7,591 and approximately 43% lower than the national average of $13,000. These figures reflect public education data from the most recent reporting periods. Compare district boundaries in the NCES database for more geographical context.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Story County

Reported Enrollment

11,679

26 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary14

Middle5

High7

Other0

7 School Districts in Story County

Ames Comm School District

Ballard Comm School District

4 schools

1,871 students

Gilbert Comm School District

4 schools

1,697 students

Nevada Comm School District

3 schools

1,542 students

Roland-Story Comm School District

3 schools

1,125 students

Collins-Maxwell Comm School District

2 schools

412 students

Colo-NESCO Comm School District

2 schools

387 students

26 Public Schools in Story County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 2 high-enrollment schools; every NCES public school remains listed here.

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

Search schools

Level

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Showing 20 of 26 matching schools

Public schools in Story County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Ames High School	Profile	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50010City: Small	9–12	High	1,403
Ames Middle School	Profile	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50014City: Small	6–8	Middle	1,002
Central Elementary School	Record	Nevada Comm School District	Nevada, 50201Town: Fringe	PK–4	Primary	608
Ballard High School	Record	Ballard Comm School District	Huxley, 50124Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	545
Gilbert High School	Record	Gilbert Comm School District	Gilbert, 50105Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	537
Fellows Elementary School	Record	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50010City: Small	KG–5	Primary	528
Nevada High School	Record	Nevada Comm School District	Nevada, 50201Town: Fringe	9–12	High	491
Ballard West Elementary	Record	Ballard Comm School District	Slater, 50244Rural: Distant	PK–2	Primary	472
Roland-Story Elementary School	Record	Roland-Story Comm School District	Story City, 50248Town: Fringe	PK–4	Primary	463
Edwards Elementary School	Record	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50014City: Small	KG–5	Primary	450
Nevada Middle School	Record	Nevada Comm School District	Nevada, 50201Town: Fringe	5–8	Middle	443
Ballard Middle School	Record	Ballard Comm School District	Huxley, 50124Town: Fringe	6–8	Middle	432
Ballard East Elementary	Record	Ballard Comm School District	Cambridge, 50046Rural: Fringe	3–5	Primary	422
Gilbert Elementary School	Record	Gilbert Comm School District	Gilbert, 50105Suburb: Small	PK–2	Primary	410
Gilbert Middle School	Record	Gilbert Comm School District	Gilbert, 50105Rural: Fringe	6–8	Middle	409
Sawyer Elementary School	Record	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50010City: Small	KG–5	Primary	367
Meeker Elementary School	Record	Ames Comm School District	Ames, 50010City: Small	KG–5	Primary	351
Roland-Story High School	Record	Roland-Story Comm School District	Story City, 50248Town: Fringe	9–12	High	345
Gilbert Intermediate School	Record	Gilbert Comm School District	Gilbert, 50105Suburb: Small	3–5	Primary	341
Roland-Story Middle School	Record	Roland-Story Comm School District	Roland, 50236Rural: Distant	5–8	Middle	317

Ames High School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50010 / City: Small

Profile9–12High1,403 students

Ames Middle School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50014 / City: Small

Profile6–8Middle1,002 students

Central Elementary School

Nevada Comm School District

Nevada, 50201 / Town: Fringe

RecordPK–4Primary608 students

Ballard High School

Ballard Comm School District

Huxley, 50124 / Rural: Fringe

Record9–12High545 students

Gilbert High School

Gilbert Comm School District

Gilbert, 50105 / Rural: Fringe

Record9–12High537 students

Fellows Elementary School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50010 / City: Small

RecordKG–5Primary528 students

Nevada High School

Nevada Comm School District

Nevada, 50201 / Town: Fringe

Record9–12High491 students

Ballard West Elementary

Ballard Comm School District

Slater, 50244 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–2Primary472 students

Roland-Story Elementary School

Roland-Story Comm School District

Story City, 50248 / Town: Fringe

RecordPK–4Primary463 students

Edwards Elementary School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50014 / City: Small

RecordKG–5Primary450 students

Nevada Middle School

Nevada Comm School District

Nevada, 50201 / Town: Fringe

Record5–8Middle443 students

Ballard Middle School

Ballard Comm School District

Huxley, 50124 / Town: Fringe

Record6–8Middle432 students

Ballard East Elementary

Ballard Comm School District

Cambridge, 50046 / Rural: Fringe

Record3–5Primary422 students

Gilbert Elementary School

Gilbert Comm School District

Gilbert, 50105 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–2Primary410 students

Gilbert Middle School

Gilbert Comm School District

Gilbert, 50105 / Rural: Fringe

Record6–8Middle409 students

Sawyer Elementary School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50010 / City: Small

RecordKG–5Primary367 students

Meeker Elementary School

Ames Comm School District

Ames, 50010 / City: Small

RecordKG–5Primary351 students

Roland-Story High School

Roland-Story Comm School District

Story City, 50248 / Town: Fringe

Record9–12High345 students

Gilbert Intermediate School

Gilbert Comm School District

Gilbert, 50105 / Suburb: Small

Record3–5Primary341 students

Roland-Story Middle School

Roland-Story Comm School District

Roland, 50236 / Rural: Distant

Record5–8Middle317 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,393

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Story 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 Story County?

Story County has a school score of 70/100, 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 Story County?

The high school graduation rate in Story County is 95.2%, 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 Story County spend per student?

Story County spends $7,393 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

Marion County

Iowa

-0 pts

69/100

School score

Jackson County

Iowa

-0 pts

69/100

School score

Keokuk County

Iowa

+0 pts

70/100

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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