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

No. Use the Faribault 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 Faribault 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 Faribault County?

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

Faribault County Schools & Education

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

Faribault County, Minnesota

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

School Score

48/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

88.7%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

88.7%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.6%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,562

National avg $13,239

State avg $8,463

School Score

48/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

#55

of 87 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Faribault County

Measured School Summary

Faribault County performs at an average level with a school score of 48/100 and a solid graduation rate of 88.7%.

Funding Context

At $7,562 per pupil, Faribault County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 13% below the Minnesota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 2.1 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 11% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Faribault 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

48/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #55 of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data.

Completion

88.7%

2.1 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,562

$901 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

Faribault 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 Faribault 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

Faribault 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

#55

of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data. The county score is 7 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.

Blue Earth Area School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,066 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 1

4 listed schools in this county slice.

United South Central Schools

Elementary and high visible

778 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Blue Earth Area 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 Faribault County?

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

Faribault County Education Spending Trails Minnesota State Average

Education data brief for Faribault County, Minnesota.

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

Lead metric:Per-pupil spending

Faribault County is notable for a per-pupil expenditure of $7,562, which falls below the Minnesota state average of $8,463 and the national average of $13,000. The county's education system is highly consolidated, with 1,844 students served by just two school districts. The Blue Earth Area School District is the larger of the two, with four schools and 1,066 students, including Blue Earth Area Elementary with 491 students. The county’s graduation rate of 88.7% is higher than the state average of 86.6% and the national rate of 87.0%. However, the composite school score of 48.0 is lower than the state average of 54.9 and the national median of 50.0. There are no charter schools in the county, and four of the six schools are located in town settings. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Faribault County

Reported Enrollment

1,844

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle1

High2

Other1

2 School Districts in Faribault County

Blue Earth Area School District

4 schools

1,066 students

United South Central Schools

2 schools

778 students

6 Public Schools in Faribault 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 Faribault County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Blue Earth Area Elementary	Record	Blue Earth Area School District	BLUE EARTH, 56013Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	491
UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL ELEMENTARY	Record	United South Central Schools	WELLS, 56097Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	445
Blue Earth Area Secondary	Record	Blue Earth Area School District	BLUE EARTH, 56013Town: Distant	8–12	High	418
UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL	Record	United South Central Schools	WELLS, 56097Rural: Remote	7–12	High	333
BLUE EARTH AREA MIDDLE	Record	Blue Earth Area School District	BLUE EARTH, 56013Town: Distant	6–7	Middle	140
Blue Earth Area Early Childhood Spe	Record	Blue Earth Area School District	BLUE EARTH, 56013Town: Distant	PK	Special Education	17

Blue Earth Area Elementary

Blue Earth Area School District

BLUE EARTH, 56013 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary491 students

UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL ELEMENTARY

United South Central Schools

WELLS, 56097 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary445 students

Blue Earth Area Secondary

Blue Earth Area School District

BLUE EARTH, 56013 / Town: Distant

Record8–12High418 students

UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

United South Central Schools

WELLS, 56097 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High333 students

BLUE EARTH AREA MIDDLE

Blue Earth Area School District

BLUE EARTH, 56013 / Town: Distant

Record6–7Middle140 students

Blue Earth Area Early Childhood Spe

Blue Earth Area School District

BLUE EARTH, 56013 / Town: Distant

RecordPKSpecial Education17 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,562

State avg $8,463

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Faribault 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 Minnesota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Jackson County (95.7%), Cottonwood County (95.3%), and Cook County (95.0%) currently lead Minnesota 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 Minnesota?

Across Minnesota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $8,463. The highest current county values are Cook County ($12,089), Kittson County ($10,301), and Beltrami County ($10,167). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Faribault County?

Faribault County has a school score of 48/100, 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 Faribault County?

The high school graduation rate in Faribault County is 88.7%, 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 Faribault County spend per student?

Faribault County spends $7,562 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

Hennepin County

Minnesota

-0 pts

48/100

School score

Scott County

Minnesota

-0 pts

48/100

School score

Steele County

Minnesota

+1 pts

49/100

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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