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

No. Use the Hughes 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 Hughes 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 Hughes County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Hughes County Schools & Education

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

Hughes County, South Dakota

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

School Score

36/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 82.4%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,262

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,409

School Score

36/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

#38

of 65 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Hughes County

Measured School Summary

Despite a lower school score of 36/100, Hughes County maintains a strong graduation rate of 90.0%, suggesting effective student support systems.

Funding Context

At $6,262 per pupil, Hughes County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 6% below the South Dakota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 7.6 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 15% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Hughes 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 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

36/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #38 of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data.

Completion

90.0%

7.6 pts above the state average

Funding context

$6,262

$1,147 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

Hughes County has 6 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 Hughes 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

Hughes 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

#38

of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data. The county score is 2 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.

Pierre School District 32-2

Elementary to high school visible

2,762 students

Elementary 3Middle 1High 1Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Pierre School District 32-2 is the largest listed district slice, with 5 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 Hughes 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?

Data Story

Hughes County Features Larger School Sizes and Town Locales

Education data brief for Hughes County, South Dakota.

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

Lead metric:District structure

Unlike many surrounding rural counties, Hughes County’s education system is centered in town locales, with an average school size of 466 students. The Pierre School District 32-2 is the dominant provider, enrolling 2,762 of the county's 2,795 students across five of its six schools. T F Riggs High School is the largest campus, with 842 students. The county’s graduation rate is 90.0%, which is higher than the state average of 82.4% and the national average of 87.0%. However, the per-pupil expenditure is $6,262, lower than the state average of $7,409 and significantly below the national average of $13,000. The composite school score for the county is 35.6, slightly below the state average of 38.3. There are no charter schools in the county. Four of the six schools are located in town settings, while two remain rural. See the NCES Common Core of Data for detailed enrollment breakdowns by grade level.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Hughes County

Reported Enrollment

2,795

6 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary4

Middle1

High1

Other0

1 School District in Hughes County

Pierre School District 32-2

5 schools

2,762 students enrolled

6 Public Schools in Hughes 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 Hughes County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
T F Riggs High School - 01	Record	Pierre School District 32-2	Pierre, 57501Town: Remote	9–12	High	842
Georgia Morse Middle School - 02	Record	Pierre School District 32-2	Pierre, 57501Town: Remote	6–8	Middle	684
Jefferson Elementary - 06	Record	Pierre School District 32-2	Pierre, 57501Town: Remote	KG–5	Primary	430
Buchanan Elementary - 03	Record	Pierre School District 32-2	Pierre, 57501Town: Remote	KG–5	Primary	418
Kennedy Elementary - 08	Record	Pierre School District 32-2	Pierre, 57501Rural: Fringe	KG–5	Primary	388
Blunt Elementary - 03	Record	Agar-Blunt-Onida School District 58-3	Blunt, 57522Rural: Remote	PK–4	Primary	33

T F Riggs High School - 01

Pierre School District 32-2

Pierre, 57501 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High842 students

Georgia Morse Middle School - 02

Pierre School District 32-2

Pierre, 57501 / Town: Remote

Record6–8Middle684 students

Jefferson Elementary - 06

Pierre School District 32-2

Pierre, 57501 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–5Primary430 students

Buchanan Elementary - 03

Pierre School District 32-2

Pierre, 57501 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–5Primary418 students

Kennedy Elementary - 08

Pierre School District 32-2

Pierre, 57501 / Rural: Fringe

RecordKG–5Primary388 students

Blunt Elementary - 03

Agar-Blunt-Onida School District 58-3

Blunt, 57522 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–4Primary33 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,262

State avg $7,409

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Hughes 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 Dakota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Deuel County (95.0%), Stanley County (95.0%), and Hamlin County (92.8%) currently lead South Dakota 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 Dakota?

Across South Dakota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,409. The highest current county values are Ziebach County ($13,420), Corson County ($10,486), and Sully County ($10,373). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Hughes County?

Hughes County has a school score of 36/100, 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 Hughes County?

The high school graduation rate in Hughes County is 90.0%, 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 Hughes County spend per student?

Hughes County spends $6,262 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

Jones County

South Dakota

-0 pts

36/100

School score

Brown County

South Dakota

+0 pts

36/100

School score

Turner County

South Dakota

+1 pts

37/100

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.

Explore more data for Hughes County

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