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

No. Use the Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Hamilton County Schools & Education

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

Hamilton County, Nebraska

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

School Score

70/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

90.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

90.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.9%

Per-Pupil Spending

$9,804

National avg $13,239

State avg $10,521

School Score

70/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 64/100

State Score Position

#34

of 93 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Hamilton County

Measured School Summary

Hamilton County performs at an average level with a school score of 70/100 and a solid graduation rate of 90.4%.

Funding Context

Hamilton County spends $9,804 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 9% above the Nebraska average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 3.5 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 7% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Hamilton 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

8 public schools and 3 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

70/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #34 of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data.

Completion

90.4%

3.5 pts above the state average

Funding context

$9,804

$717 below the state average

School coverage

3 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

Hamilton County has 8 public schools across 3 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 Hamilton 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.

Mixed school landscape

Hamilton County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#34

of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data. The county score is 6 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.

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

1,226 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 1

4 listed schools in this county slice.

GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary and high visible

246 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL

Elementary and high visible

191 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS 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 Hamilton County?

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

Hamilton County Public Schools Outpace State Average Performance Scores

Education data brief for Hamilton County, Nebraska.

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

Lead metric:School score

Hamilton County records a composite school score of 69.9, which is significantly higher than the Nebraska state average of 63.6 and the national median of 50.0. The county serves 1,663 students across eight public schools, with Aurora Public Schools acting as the largest district with an enrollment of 1,226 students. The graduation rate for the county stands at 90.4%, exceeding both the state average of 86.9% and the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil expenditure is currently $9,804, which is lower than the Nebraska state average of $10,521 and the national average of $13,000. Of the eight schools in the county, four are classified as town-based and four as rural, reflecting a balanced mix of locales. There are no charter schools operating within the county. Aurora Elementary School is the largest individual facility with 513 students. 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 Hamilton County

Reported Enrollment

1,663

8 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High3

Other1

3 School Districts in Hamilton County

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

4 schools

1,226 students

GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

2 schools

246 students

HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL

2 schools

191 students

8 Public Schools in Hamilton 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 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Hamilton County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
AURORA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS	AURORA, 68818Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	513
AURORA HIGH SCHOOL	Record	AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS	AURORA, 68818Town: Distant	9–12	High	374
AURORA MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS	AURORA, 68818Town: Distant	6–8	Middle	269
GILTNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS	GILTNER, 68841Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	152
HAMPTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL	HAMPTON, 68843Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	110
GILTNER HIGH SCHOOL	Record	GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS	GILTNER, 68841Rural: Distant	7–12	High	94
HAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL	Record	HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL	HAMPTON, 68843Rural: Distant	7–12	High	81
AURORA PRESCHOOL	Record	AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS	AURORA, 68818Town: Distant	PK	Other	70

AURORA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AURORA, 68818 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary513 students

AURORA HIGH SCHOOL

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AURORA, 68818 / Town: Distant

Record9–12High374 students

AURORA MIDDLE SCHOOL

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AURORA, 68818 / Town: Distant

Record6–8Middle269 students

GILTNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

GILTNER, 68841 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary152 students

HAMPTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL

HAMPTON, 68843 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary110 students

GILTNER HIGH SCHOOL

GILTNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

GILTNER, 68841 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High94 students

HAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL

HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL

HAMPTON, 68843 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High81 students

AURORA PRESCHOOL

AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AURORA, 68818 / Town: Distant

RecordPKOther70 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$9,804

State avg $10,521

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Hamilton 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 Nebraska counties have the highest graduation rates?

Washington County (96.3%), Seward County (96.2%), and Keith County (95.4%) currently lead Nebraska 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 Nebraska?

Across Nebraska counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $10,521. The highest current county values are Wheeler County ($19,491), Sioux County ($18,861), and Loup County ($18,703). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Hamilton County?

Hamilton County has a school score of 70/100, 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 Hamilton County?

The high school graduation rate in Hamilton County is 90.4%, 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 Hamilton County spend per student?

Hamilton County spends $9,804 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

Franklin County

Nebraska

+0 pts

70/100

School score

Kimball County

Nebraska

-0 pts

70/100

School score

Harlan County

Nebraska

+0 pts

70/100

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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