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

No. Use the Johnson 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 Johnson 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 Johnson County?

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

Johnson County Schools & Education

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

Johnson County, Nebraska

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

School Score

68/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

89.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

89.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.9%

Per-Pupil Spending

$10,359

National avg $13,239

State avg $10,521

School Score

68/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 64/100

State Score Position

#39

of 93 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Johnson County

Measured School Summary

Johnson County performs at an average level with a school score of 68/100 and a solid graduation rate of 89.4%.

Funding Context

Johnson County spends $10,359 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 6% above the Nebraska average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 2.5 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 2% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Johnson 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

68/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #39 of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data.

Completion

89.4%

2.5 pts above the state average

Funding context

$10,359

$162 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

Johnson 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 Johnson 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

Johnson 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

#39

of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data. The county score is 4 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.

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

Elementary to high school visible

497 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary and high visible

224 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS 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 Johnson County?

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

Johnson County Education Defined by All-Rural School District Structure

Education data brief for Johnson County, Nebraska.

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

Lead metric:District structure

All six public schools in Johnson County are classified as rural, with an average school size of 120 students. This decentralized landscape is managed by two school districts, the largest being Johnson County Central Public Schools, which enrolls 497 students across four campuses. The county's composite school score of 67.7 stands above the Nebraska state average of 63.6 and the national median of 50.0. Public schools here report a graduation rate of 89.4%, which exceeds the state rate of 86.9% and the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil expenditure is recorded at $10,359, aligning closely with the state average of $10,521 but remaining below the national average of $13,000. Data includes 721 total students across three elementary, one middle, and two high schools. 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 Johnson County

Reported Enrollment

721

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High2

Other0

2 School Districts in Johnson County

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

4 schools

497 students

STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

2 schools

224 students

6 Public Schools in Johnson 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 Johnson County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
JOHNSON CO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL	Record	JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS	TECUMSEH, 68450Rural: Remote	9–12	High	153
JOHNSON CO CENTRAL EL-TECUMSEH	Record	JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS	TECUMSEH, 68450Rural: Remote	PK–3	Primary	146
STERLING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS	STERLING, 68443Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	135
JOHNSON CO CENTRAL MIDDLE SCH	Record	JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS	COOK, 68392Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	119
STERLING HIGH SCHOOL	Record	STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS	STERLING, 68443Rural: Distant	7–12	High	89
JOHNSON CO CENTRAL ELEM-COOK	Record	JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS	COOK, 68329Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	79

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

TECUMSEH, 68450 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High153 students

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL EL-TECUMSEH

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

TECUMSEH, 68450 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–3Primary146 students

STERLING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

STERLING, 68443 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary135 students

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL MIDDLE SCH

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

COOK, 68392 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle119 students

STERLING HIGH SCHOOL

STERLING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

STERLING, 68443 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High89 students

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL ELEM-COOK

JOHNSON CO CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHS

COOK, 68329 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary79 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$10,359

State avg $10,521

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Johnson 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 Johnson County?

Johnson County has a school score of 68/100, 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 Johnson County?

The high school graduation rate in Johnson County is 89.4%, 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 Johnson County spend per student?

Johnson County spends $10,359 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

Garfield County

Nebraska

-1 pts

67/100

School score

Kearney County

Nebraska

+1 pts

69/100

School score

Antelope County

Nebraska

-1 pts

66/100

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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