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

No. Use the Valencia 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 Valencia 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 Valencia County?

Start with the 27 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Valencia County Schools & Education

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

Valencia County, New Mexico

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

School Score

10/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

77.7%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

77.7%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 79.0%

Per-Pupil Spending

$5,895

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,957

School Score

10/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 33/100

State Score Position

#33

of 33 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Valencia County

Measured School Summary

Valencia County faces educational challenges with a school score of 10/100 and a graduation rate of 77.7%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $5,895 per pupil, Valencia County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 70% below the New Mexico average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 1.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 26% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Valencia 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

27 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

10/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #33 of 33 New Mexico counties with school score data.

Completion

77.7%

1.3 pts below the state average

Funding context

$5,895

$2,062 below the state average

School coverage

3 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Valencia County has 27 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 Valencia 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.

Review-carefully county

Valencia County has a lower measured county-level school signal. Use the school table to look for specific districts or grade bands that may differ from the county average.

State position

#33

of 33 New Mexico counties with school score data. The county score is 23 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.

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

8,234 students

Elementary 10Middle 2High 3Other 1

16 listed schools in this county slice.

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

3,399 students

Elementary 5Middle 2High 2Other 0

9 listed schools in this county slice.

SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY

Other grade structure

606 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 0Other 1

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS is the largest listed district slice, with 16 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 Valencia County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Valencia County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Valencia County School Score Reflects Statistical Gap From State Benchmarks

Education data brief for Valencia County, New Mexico.

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

Lead metric:School score

Valencia County records a composite school score of 9.8, a figure that is approximately 70 percent lower than the New Mexico state average of 33.4 and significantly below the national median of 50.0. This metric serves as a high-level summary of the county’s 27 public schools, which serve a total of 12,241 students. Los Lunas Public Schools is the largest provider in the region, managing 16 schools and 8,234 students, including Los Lunas High, the county's largest facility with 1,486 students. The county’s per-pupil expenditure is reported at $5,895, which is notably lower than the national average of $13,000 and the state average of $7,957. In terms of student outcomes, the graduation rate for Valencia County is 77.7%, trailing both the state average of 79.0% and the national benchmark of 87.0%. The school directory shows a mix of 20 suburban and 7 rural schools, including one charter school and five alternative programs. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Valencia County

Reported Enrollment

12,241

27 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

4% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary15

Middle4

High6

Other2

3 School Districts in Valencia County

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY

1 school

606 students

27 Public Schools in Valencia County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 2 high-enrollment schools; every NCES public school remains listed here.

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

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 20 of 27 matching schools

Public schools in Valencia County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
LOS LUNAS HIGH	Profile	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	9–12	High	1,486
BELEN HIGH	Profile	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	1,027
VALENCIA HIGH	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	9–12	High	887
LOS LUNAS MIDDLE	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	7–8	Middle	799
KATHERINE GALLEGOS ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	635
SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY	Record	SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–12	Charter	606
SUNDANCE ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Rural: Fringe	PK–6	Primary	561
BELEN MIDDLE	Record	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Suburb: Small	7–8	Middle	528
VALENCIA MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Rural: Fringe	7–8	Middle	492
BOSQUE FARMS ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	457
LA MERCED ELEMENTARY	Record	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Rural: Fringe	PK–6	Primary	437
LOS LUNAS ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	412
RAYMOND GABALDON ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	386
VALENCIA ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	379
DESERT VIEW ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	375
ANN PARISH ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Rural: Fringe	PK–6	Primary	373
RIO GRANDE ELEMENTARY	Record	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	357
TOME ELEMENTARY	Record	LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS	LOS LUNAS, 87031Rural: Fringe	PK–6	Primary	331
GIL SANCHEZ ELEMENTARY	Record	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Rural: Fringe	PK–6	Primary	297
DENNIS CHAVEZ ELEMENTARY	Record	BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS	BELEN, 87002Suburb: Small	PK–6	Primary	296

LOS LUNAS HIGH

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

Profile9–12High1,486 students

BELEN HIGH

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Rural: Fringe

Profile9–12High1,027 students

VALENCIA HIGH

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

Record9–12High887 students

LOS LUNAS MIDDLE

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

Record7–8Middle799 students

KATHERINE GALLEGOS ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary635 students

SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–12Charter606 students

SUNDANCE ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–6Primary561 students

BELEN MIDDLE

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Suburb: Small

Record7–8Middle528 students

VALENCIA MIDDLE SCHOOL

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Rural: Fringe

Record7–8Middle492 students

BOSQUE FARMS ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary457 students

LA MERCED ELEMENTARY

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–6Primary437 students

LOS LUNAS ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary412 students

RAYMOND GABALDON ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary386 students

VALENCIA ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary379 students

DESERT VIEW ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary375 students

ANN PARISH ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–6Primary373 students

RIO GRANDE ELEMENTARY

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary357 students

TOME ELEMENTARY

LOS LUNAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LOS LUNAS, 87031 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–6Primary331 students

GIL SANCHEZ ELEMENTARY

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–6Primary297 students

DENNIS CHAVEZ ELEMENTARY

BELEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

BELEN, 87002 / Suburb: Small

RecordPK–6Primary296 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$5,895

State avg $7,957

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Valencia 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 New Mexico counties have the highest graduation rates?

Los Alamos County (93.0%), De Baca County (90.0%), and Mora County (90.0%) currently lead New Mexico 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 New Mexico?

Across New Mexico counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,957. The highest current county values are Catron County ($13,747), Harding County ($13,463), and Guadalupe County ($10,823). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Valencia County?

Valencia County has a school score of 10/100, which is a lower 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 Valencia County?

The high school graduation rate in Valencia County is 77.7%, which is below 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 Valencia County spend per student?

Valencia County spends $5,895 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

Curry County

New Mexico

0 pts

10/100

School score

Eddy County

New Mexico

+3 pts

13/100

School score

Santa Fe County

New Mexico

+6 pts

16/100

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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