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

No. Use the Russell 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 Russell 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 Russell County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Russell County Schools & Education

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

Russell County, Kentucky

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

School Score

57/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

96.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

96.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 93.8%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,343

National avg $13,239

State avg $6,894

School Score

57/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 57/100

State Score Position

#61

of 120 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Russell County

Measured School Summary

Russell County performs at an average level with a school score of 57/100 and a solid graduation rate of 96.0%.

Funding Context

At $6,343 per pupil, Russell County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 1% above the Kentucky average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 2.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 8% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Russell 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 1 district 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

57/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #61 of 120 Kentucky counties with school score data.

Completion

96.0%

2.2 pts above the state average

Funding context

$6,343

$551 below the state average

School coverage

1 district 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

Russell County has 6 public schools across 1 district, 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 Russell 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

Russell 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

#61

of 120 Kentucky counties with school score data. The county score is roughly in line with 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.

Russell County

Elementary to high school visible

3,005 students

Elementary 3Middle 1High 1Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Russell County is the largest listed district slice, with 5 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 Russell County?

Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?

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

Russell County Education System Entirely Comprised of Rural Locales

Education data brief for Russell County, Kentucky.

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

Lead metric:District structure

All six public schools in Russell County are classified as rural, serving a total enrollment of 3,005 students within a single school district. The largest institution is Russell County High School, with 832 students. The county’s average school size of 601 students is higher than several neighboring counties. Russell County reports a graduation rate of 96.0%, which exceeds both the national average of 87.0% and the state average of 93.8%. The composite school score of 57.3 is nearly identical to the Kentucky state average of 56.7. Per-pupil expenditure is $6,343, which is $551 lower than the state average and less than half of the national average of $13,000. There are no charter schools in the county, and the directory consists of three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Russell County

Reported Enrollment

3,005

6 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High2

Other0

1 School District in Russell County

Russell County

5 schools

3,005 students enrolled

6 Public Schools in Russell 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 Russell County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Russell County High School	Record	Russell County	Russell Springs, 42642Rural: Remote	9–12	High	832
Russell County Middle School	Record	Russell County	Russell Springs, 42642Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	677
Russell Springs Elementary School	Record	Russell County	Russell Springs, 42642Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	625
Jamestown Elementary School	Record	Russell County	Jamestown, 42629Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	476
Salem Elementary School	Record	Russell County	Russell Springs, 42642Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	395
Lake Cumberland Area Technology Center	Record	Kentucky Tech System	Russell Springs, 42642Rural: Remote	8–12	Vocational	0

Russell County High School

Russell County

Russell Springs, 42642 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High832 students

Russell County Middle School

Russell County

Russell Springs, 42642 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle677 students

Russell Springs Elementary School

Russell County

Russell Springs, 42642 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary625 students

Jamestown Elementary School

Russell County

Jamestown, 42629 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary476 students

Salem Elementary School

Russell County

Russell Springs, 42642 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary395 students

Lake Cumberland Area Technology Center

Kentucky Tech System

Russell Springs, 42642 / Rural: Remote

Record8–12Vocational0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,343

State avg $6,894

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Russell 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 Russell County?

Russell County has a school score of 57/100, 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 Russell County?

The high school graduation rate in Russell County is 96.0%, 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 Russell County spend per student?

Russell County spends $6,343 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

Perry County

Kentucky

0 pts

57/100

School score

Todd County

Kentucky

-0 pts

57/100

School score

Fayette County

Kentucky

+0 pts

58/100

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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