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

No. Use the Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County?

Start with the 7 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Jackson County Schools & Education

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

Jackson County, Minnesota

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

School Score

78/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Higher Signal

Graduation Rate

95.7%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

95.7%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.6%

Per-Pupil Spending

$8,106

National avg $13,239

State avg $8,463

School Score

78/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

of 87 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Jackson County

Measured School Summary

Jackson County has a higher measured school signal with a school score of 78/100 and a graduation rate of 95.7%, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-score inputs.

Funding Context

Jackson County spends $8,106 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 42% above the Minnesota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 9.1 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 4% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Jackson 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

7 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

78/100

Higher measured signal. Ranks #5 of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data.

Completion

95.7%

9.1 pts above the state average

Funding context

$8,106

$357 below 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

Jackson County has 7 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 Jackson 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

Jackson 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 87 Minnesota counties with school score data. The county score is 23 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.

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

Elementary to high school visible

1,107 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary and high visible

294 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST. 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 Jackson County?

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

Jackson County Graduation Rates Significantly Exceed National Averages

Education data brief for Jackson County, Minnesota.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Jackson County reports a graduation rate of 95.7%, a figure that is significantly higher than both the Minnesota state average of 86.6% and the national average of 87.0%. This high graduation rate corresponds with a composite school score of 78.3, well above the state average of 54.9 and the national median of 50.0. The county operates seven public schools with a total enrollment of 1,401 students, meaning the average school size is relatively small at 234 students. The Jackson County Central School District is the larger of the two districts, serving 1,107 students, with Riverside Elementary being its largest school. Per-pupil expenditure is $8,106, which is lower than the state average of $8,463 and the national average of $13,000. All schools are classified as either rural or town-based. Examine district-level reports for specific secondary school performance data.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Jackson County

Reported Enrollment

1,401

7 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High3

Other0

2 School Districts in Jackson County

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

4 schools

1,107 students

HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT

2 schools

294 students

7 Public Schools in Jackson 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 7 of 7 matching schools

Public schools in Jackson County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY	Record	JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.	JACKSON, 56143Town: Remote	PK–3	Primary	370
Jackson County Central Senior High	Record	JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.	JACKSON, 56143Town: Remote	9–12	High	340
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL MIDDLE	Record	JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.	LAKEFIELD, 56150Rural: Distant	6–8	Middle	241
Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary	Record	HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT	OKABENA, 56161Rural: Remote	7–12	High	161
PLEASANTVIEW ELEMENTARY	Record	JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.	LAKEFIELD, 56150Rural: Distant	4–5	Primary	156
HERON LAKE-OKABENA ELEMENTARY	Record	HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT	HERON LAKE, 56137Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	133
Jackson Co Central Credit Recovery	Record	Region 6 and 8-SW/WC Service Coop	JACKSON, 56143Town: Remote	9–12	Alternative	0

RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

JACKSON, 56143 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–3Primary370 students

Jackson County Central Senior High

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

JACKSON, 56143 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High340 students

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL MIDDLE

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

LAKEFIELD, 56150 / Rural: Distant

Record6–8Middle241 students

Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary

HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT

OKABENA, 56161 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High161 students

PLEASANTVIEW ELEMENTARY

JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST.

LAKEFIELD, 56150 / Rural: Distant

Record4–5Primary156 students

HERON LAKE-OKABENA ELEMENTARY

HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL DISTRICT

HERON LAKE, 56137 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary133 students

Jackson Co Central Credit Recovery

Region 6 and 8-SW/WC Service Coop

JACKSON, 56143 / Town: Remote

Record9–12Alternative0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$8,106

State avg $8,463

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Jackson 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 Jackson County?

Jackson County has a school score of 78/100, 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 Jackson County?

The high school graduation rate in Jackson County is 95.7%, 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 Jackson County spend per student?

Jackson County spends $8,106 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

Lake of the Woods County

Minnesota

-1 pts

77/100

School score

Murray County

Minnesota

-2 pts

77/100

School score

Big Stone County

Minnesota

-3 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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