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

No. Use the Union 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 Union 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 Union County?

Start with the 7 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Union County Schools & Education

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

Union County, South Carolina

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

School Score

17/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

77.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

77.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 84.2%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,513

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,165

School Score

17/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 33/100

State Score Position

#40

of 46 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Union County

Measured School Summary

Union County faces educational challenges with a school score of 17/100 and a graduation rate of 77.0%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $6,513 per pupil, Union County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 50% below the South Carolina average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 7.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 9% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Union 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 1 district 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

17/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #40 of 46 South Carolina counties with school score data.

Completion

77.0%

7.2 pts below the state average

Funding context

$6,513

$652 below the state average

School coverage

1 district 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

Union County has 7 public schools across 1 district, 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 Union 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

Union 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

#40

of 46 South Carolina counties with school score data. The county score is 16 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.

Union 01

Elementary to high school visible

3,788 students

Elementary 4Middle 1High 2Other 0

7 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Union 01 is the largest listed district slice, with 7 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 Union County?

Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?

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?

Education Overview

About Schools in Union County, South Carolina

This context is screened for neutral school-data wording and should be read alongside the current metrics on this page. It is not school advice.

Community Schools in Union County

Union County operates a streamlined system of 7 public schools serving 3,788 students under one central district. The infrastructure is built around four elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools.

Union 01 District Overview

Union 01 is the sole district provider for the county, managing all 3,788 students with no charter schools currently in operation. This centralized approach ensures that all local resources are funneled into the traditional public school system.

Town and Country Education

Schools are split between town (4) and rural (3) locales, reflecting the county’s geography. The average school size is 631 students, though Union County High serves as the largest community anchor with 1,069 students.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Union County

Reported Enrollment

3,788

7 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary4

Middle1

High2

Other0

1 School District in Union County

Union 01

Guide

7 schools

3,788 students enrolled

Open district guide

7 Public Schools in Union County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 1 high-enrollment school; every NCES public school remains listed here.

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

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 7 of 7 matching schools

Public schools in Union County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Union County High	Profile	Union 01	Union, 29379Town: Distant	9–12	High	1,069
Sims Middle	Record	Union 01	Union, 29379Rural: Fringe	6–8	Middle	672
Jonesville Elementary Middle	Record	Union 01	Jonesville, 29353Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	603
Monarch Elementary	Record	Union 01	Union, 29379Rural: Fringe	PK–5	Primary	497
Buffalo Elementary	Record	Union 01	Buffalo, 29321Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	491
Foster Park Elementary	Record	Union 01	Union, 29379Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	456
Union County Career and Technology Center	Record	Union 01	Union, 29379Town: Distant	9–12	Vocational	0

Union County High

Union 01

Union, 29379 / Town: Distant

Profile9–12High1,069 students

Sims Middle

Union 01

Union, 29379 / Rural: Fringe

Record6–8Middle672 students

Jonesville Elementary Middle

Union 01

Jonesville, 29353 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary603 students

Monarch Elementary

Union 01

Union, 29379 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–5Primary497 students

Buffalo Elementary

Union 01

Buffalo, 29321 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary491 students

Foster Park Elementary

Union 01

Union, 29379 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary456 students

Union County Career and Technology Center

Union 01

Union, 29379 / Town: Distant

Record9–12Vocational0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,513

State avg $7,165

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Union 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 South Carolina counties have the highest graduation rates?

Lee County (92.0%), Darlington County (91.1%), and Dorchester County (91.1%) currently lead South Carolina 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 South Carolina?

Across South Carolina counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,165. The highest current county values are Fairfield County ($11,084), Richland County ($10,146), and McCormick County ($8,932). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Union County?

Union County has a school score of 17/100, 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 Union County?

The high school graduation rate in Union County is 77.0%, 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 Union County spend per student?

Union County spends $6,513 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools in Union County, South Carolina — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Union County, South Carolina?

What are the major school districts in Union County, South Carolina?

What is the school experience like in Union County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Jasper County

South Carolina

-0 pts

17/100

School score

Saluda County

South Carolina

-2 pts

15/100

School score

Berkeley County

South Carolina

-2 pts

15/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated May 13, 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.

Explore more data for Union County

Property Tax Cost of Living Crime Rate Income Health Disaster Risk Water Quality Weather County Score