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

No. Use the Union 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 Union 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 Union County?

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

Union County Schools & Education

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

Union County, Iowa

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

School Score

80/100

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

$8,122

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

80/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Union County

Measured School Summary

Union County has a higher measured school signal with a school score of 80/100 and a graduation rate of 96.5%, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-score inputs.

Funding Context

Union County spends $8,122 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 31% above the Iowa average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 4.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 7% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Union 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

80/100

Higher measured signal. Ranks #2 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

96.5%

4.2 pts above the state average

Funding context

$8,122

$531 above the state average

School coverage

2 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

Union 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 Union 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

Union 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 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 19 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.

Creston Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,379 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

East Union Comm School District

Elementary and high visible

489 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Creston 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 Union County?

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

Union County School Score Far Exceeds National Median

Education data brief for Union County, Iowa.

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

Lead metric:School score

Union County achieved a composite school score of 79.9, which is significantly higher than the state average of 61.3 and nearly 30 points above the national median of 50.0. The county's graduation rate is also high at 96.5%, compared to 92.3% for the state and 87.0% for the nation. Public education in the county is delivered through six schools in two districts: Creston Community School District (1,379 students) and East Union Community School District (489 students). Creston High School is the largest facility with 532 students. The schools are located in a mix of town and rural locales. Per-pupil expenditure is $8,122, which is higher than the state average of $7,591 but lower than the national benchmark of $13,000. These findings are based on NCES and Census Bureau datasets. Further details on school demographics can be found in the NCES directory.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Union County

Reported Enrollment

1,868

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High2

Other0

2 School Districts in Union County

Creston Comm School District

4 schools

1,379 students

East Union Comm School District

2 schools

489 students

6 Public Schools in Union 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 Union County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Creston High School	Record	Creston Comm School District	Creston, 50801Town: Remote	9–12	High	532
Creston Elementary School	Record	Creston Comm School District	Creston, 50801Rural: Fringe	1–5	Primary	410
Creston Middle School	Record	Creston Comm School District	Creston, 50801Rural: Fringe	6–8	Middle	291
East Union Middle-High School	Record	East Union Comm School District	Afton, 50830Rural: Distant	6–12	High	259
East Union Elementary	Record	East Union Comm School District	Afton, 50830Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	230
Creston Early Childhood Center	Record	Creston Comm School District	Creston, 50801Town: Remote	PK–KG	Primary	146

Creston High School

Creston Comm School District

Creston, 50801 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High532 students

Creston Elementary School

Creston Comm School District

Creston, 50801 / Rural: Fringe

Record1–5Primary410 students

Creston Middle School

Creston Comm School District

Creston, 50801 / Rural: Fringe

Record6–8Middle291 students

East Union Middle-High School

East Union Comm School District

Afton, 50830 / Rural: Distant

Record6–12High259 students

East Union Elementary

East Union Comm School District

Afton, 50830 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary230 students

Creston Early Childhood Center

Creston Comm School District

Creston, 50801 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–KGPrimary146 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$8,122

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Union 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 Union County?

Union County has a school score of 80/100, 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 Union County?

The high school graduation rate in Union 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 Union County spend per student?

Union County spends $8,122 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

Winneshiek County

Iowa

+1 pts

80/100

School score

Howard County

Iowa

-1 pts

79/100

School score

Shelby County

Iowa

-4 pts

76/100

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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