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

No. Use the Harlan 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 Harlan 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 Harlan County?

Start with the 14 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Harlan County Schools & Education

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

Harlan County, Kentucky

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

School Score

46/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

91.6%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

91.6%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 93.8%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,682

National avg $13,239

State avg $6,894

School Score

46/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 57/100

State Score Position

#97

of 120 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Harlan County

Measured School Summary

Harlan County performs at an average level with a school score of 46/100 and a solid graduation rate of 91.6%.

Funding Context

At $6,682 per pupil, Harlan County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 19% below the Kentucky average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 2.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 3% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Harlan 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

14 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

46/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #97 of 120 Kentucky counties with school score data.

Completion

91.6%

2.2 pts below the state average

Funding context

$6,682

$212 below the state average

School coverage

2 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

Harlan County has 14 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 Harlan 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 County carries most of the listed public-school system, with 11 of 14 schools. Start there, then verify whether your target address sits inside that district slice.

State position

#97

of 120 Kentucky 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.

Harlan County

Elementary and high visible

3,442 students

Elementary 8Middle 0High 1Other 2

11 listed schools in this county slice.

Harlan Independent

Elementary and high visible

829 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 1

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Harlan County is the largest listed district slice, with 11 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 Harlan County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Harlan County district systems?

Where do students transition after the visible grade band, and is that next school inside the same district path?

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

Harlan County Features Distinctive PK-8 Elementary School Model

Education data brief for Harlan County, Kentucky.

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

Lead metric:District structure

Harlan County's public school system is notable for its district structure, where nine elementary schools often serve students through the 8th grade, leading to the absence of standalone middle schools in the NCES directory for the county. The county serves 4,271 students across two districts: Harlan County and Harlan Independent. The larger Harlan County district manages 11 schools and 3,442 students, with Harlan County High School being the largest campus at 997 students. The county's graduation rate is 91.6%, which is above the national average of 87.0% but lower than the Kentucky average of 93.8%. The composite school score of 46.0 is below the state average of 56.7 and the national median of 50.0. Per-pupil spending is $6,682, which is just below the Kentucky average of $6,894 and significantly below the national average of $13,000. Ten of the county's 14 schools are located in town locales. See the NCES directory for specific school-level enrollment by grade.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Harlan County

Reported Enrollment

4,271

14 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary9

Middle0

High2

Other3

2 School Districts in Harlan County

Harlan County

Harlan Independent

3 schools

829 students

14 Public Schools in Harlan County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 1 high-enrollment school; 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 14 of 14 matching schools

Public schools in Harlan County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Harlan County High School	Profile	Harlan County	Baxter, 40806Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	997
Cumberland Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Cumberland, 40823Rural: Fringe	PK–8	Primary	449
Harlan High School	Record	Harlan Independent	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	5–12	High	391
Wallins Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Wallins, 40873Town: Remote	PK–8	Primary	386
Rosspoint Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Baxter, 40806Town: Remote	KG–8	Primary	354
Harlan Elementary School	Record	Harlan Independent	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	KG–4	Primary	345
Evarts Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Evarts, 40828Town: Distant	PK–8	Primary	340
James A. Cawood Elementary	Record	Harlan County	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	PK–8	Primary	307
Black Mountain Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Evarts, 40828Town: Distant	PK–8	Primary	280
Cawood Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Cawood, 40815Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	205
Green Hills Elementary School	Record	Harlan County	Bledsoe, 40810Rural: Fringe	PK–8	Primary	124
Sunshine School	Record	Harlan Independent	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	PK	Other	93
Cumberland Tech - Harlan Campus	Record	Harlan County	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	UG	Vocational	0
Kentucky TECH - Harlan Regional Tech Ctr	Record	Harlan County	Harlan, 40831Town: Remote	UG	Vocational	0

Harlan County High School

Harlan County

Baxter, 40806 / Rural: Fringe

Profile9–12High997 students

Cumberland Elementary School

Harlan County

Cumberland, 40823 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–8Primary449 students

Harlan High School

Harlan Independent

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

Record5–12High391 students

Wallins Elementary School

Harlan County

Wallins, 40873 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–8Primary386 students

Rosspoint Elementary School

Harlan County

Baxter, 40806 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–8Primary354 students

Harlan Elementary School

Harlan Independent

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–4Primary345 students

Evarts Elementary School

Harlan County

Evarts, 40828 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary340 students

James A. Cawood Elementary

Harlan County

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–8Primary307 students

Black Mountain Elementary School

Harlan County

Evarts, 40828 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary280 students

Cawood Elementary School

Harlan County

Cawood, 40815 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary205 students

Green Hills Elementary School

Harlan County

Bledsoe, 40810 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–8Primary124 students

Sunshine School

Harlan Independent

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

RecordPKOther93 students

Cumberland Tech - Harlan Campus

Harlan County

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

RecordUGVocational0 students

Kentucky TECH - Harlan Regional Tech Ctr

Harlan County

Harlan, 40831 / Town: Remote

RecordUGVocational0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,682

State avg $6,894

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Harlan 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 Kentucky counties have the highest graduation rates?

Rockcastle County (99.0%), Taylor County (98.5%), and Carter County (98.0%) currently lead Kentucky 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 Kentucky?

Across Kentucky counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $6,894. The highest current county values are Wolfe County ($9,307), Fayette County ($8,810), and Jefferson County ($8,382). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Harlan County?

Harlan County has a school score of 46/100, 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 Harlan County?

The high school graduation rate in Harlan County is 91.6%, 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 Harlan County spend per student?

Harlan County spends $6,682 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

Breathitt County

Kentucky

0 pts

46/100

School score

Crittenden County

Kentucky

-0 pts

46/100

School score

Gallatin County

Kentucky

+0 pts

46/100

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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