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

No. Use the Dallas 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County?

Start with the 737 listed public schools and 44 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

How does Dallas County compare with nearby school counties?

Dallas County appears in the Dallas-Fort Worth comparison with Collin County, TX and Tarrant County, TX. Use that regional guide to compare county school score, graduation rate, and spending before narrowing to individual districts and schools.

Dallas County Schools & Education

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

Dallas County, Texas

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

School Score

20/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

83.5%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

83.5%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 91.6%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,296

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,498

School Score

20/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 56/100

State Score Position

#249

of 253 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Dallas County

Measured School Summary

Dallas County faces educational challenges with a school score of 20/100 and a graduation rate of 83.5%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $6,296 per pupil, Dallas County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 64% below the Texas average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 8.1 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 16% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Dallas 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

737 public schools and 44 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

20/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #249 of 253 Texas counties with school score data.

Completion

83.5%

8.1 pts below the state average

Funding context

$6,296

$1,202 below the state average

School coverage

737

44 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

Dallas County has 737 public schools across 44 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 Dallas 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.

Large multi-district county

Dallas County has many school records across many districts. County averages are only the opening screen; neighborhood-level assignment and grade-band fit matter more here.

State position

#249

of 253 Texas counties with school score data. The county score is 36 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.

DALLAS ISD

Elementary to high school visible

141,169 students

Elementary 153Middle 41High 39Other 7

240 listed schools in this county slice.

GARLAND ISD

Elementary to high school visible

52,767 students

Elementary 51Middle 14High 11Other 2

78 listed schools in this county slice.

MESQUITE ISD

Elementary to high school visible

38,356 students

Elementary 34Middle 10High 6Other 1

51 listed schools in this county slice.

RICHARDSON ISD

Elementary to high school visible

37,260 students

Elementary 40Middle 8High 4Other 3

55 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

DALLAS ISD is the largest listed district slice, with 240 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 Dallas County?

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

Comparison context

Compare Dallas County With Nearby School Markets

Dallas County appears in curated regional school comparisons where parents commonly weigh county lines, housing tradeoffs, commute, and district boundaries before narrowing to individual schools.

Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas County vs Collin County vs Tarrant County Schools

This guide frames the Dallas core, northern suburbs, and Fort Worth side of the metro as three different starting points for school research.

Compared with

Collin County, TX and Tarrant County, TX

Current leader

Collin County, TX at 58/100

Graduation-rate leader: Collin County, TX at 96.6%

Open regional guide Open interactive comparison

Education Overview

About Schools in Dallas County, Texas

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.

A Massive Urban Education Network

Dallas County operates a vast network of 737 public schools serving 461,669 students across 44 distinct districts. The infrastructure includes 438 elementary schools and 127 high schools, making it one of the largest educational hubs in the state.

Evaluating Performance and Investment

The county's 83.5% graduation rate trails both the Texas average of 91.6% and the national benchmark of 87%. With a per-pupil expenditure of $6,296, the county invests less than the $7,498 state average and significantly less than the $13,000 national average.

Dallas ISD Leads the Way

Dallas ISD dominates the landscape with 240 schools and 141,169 students, while Garland ISD follows with 52,767 students. Charter schools play a major role here, with 129 campuses representing 17.5% of all public schools in the county.

Urban Centers and High-Enrollment Campuses

Education here is primarily an urban experience, with 420 schools in city settings and 296 in suburbs. High schools like Duncanville and Skyline are massive, with enrollments exceeding 4,100 students each.

School Overview

Total Schools

737

in Dallas County

Reported Enrollment

461,669

737 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

129

18% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary438

Middle127

High127

Other45

44 School Districts in Dallas County

DALLAS ISD

GARLAND ISD

MESQUITE ISD

RICHARDSON ISD

IRVING ISD

GRAND PRAIRIE ISD

UPLIFT EDUCATION

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF TEXAS (ILTEXAS)

COPPELL ISD

DUNCANVILLE ISD

737 Public Schools in Dallas County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 87 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 737 matching schools

Public schools in Dallas County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
DUNCANVILLE H S	Profile	DUNCANVILLE ISD	DUNCANVILLE, 75116Suburb: Large	8–12	High	4,501
SKYLINE H S	Profile	DALLAS ISD	DALLAS, 75227City: Large	9–12	High	4,166
COPPELL H S	Profile	COPPELL ISD	COPPELL, 75019Suburb: Large	9–12	High	3,955
SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE H S	Profile	GRAND PRAIRIE ISD	GRAND PRAIRIE, 75052Suburb: Large	9–12	High	3,351
HORN H S	Profile	MESQUITE ISD	MESQUITE, 75181Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	3,029
GRAND PRAIRIE H S	Profile	GRAND PRAIRIE ISD	GRAND PRAIRIE, 75050Suburb: Large	8–12	High	3,001
SACHSE H S	Profile	GARLAND ISD	SACHSE, 75048Suburb: Large	9–12	High	2,997
LAKE HIGHLANDS H S	Profile	RICHARDSON ISD	DALLAS, 75238City: Large	9–12	High	2,896
N GARLAND H S	Profile	GARLAND ISD	GARLAND, 75042Suburb: Large	9–12	High	2,802
RICHARDSON H S	Profile	RICHARDSON ISD	RICHARDSON, 75080City: Midsize	9–12	High	2,773
MACARTHUR H S	Profile	IRVING ISD	IRVING, 75062City: Large	9–12	High	2,586
IRVING H S	Profile	IRVING ISD	IRVING, 75061City: Large	9–12	High	2,519
GARLAND H S	Profile	GARLAND ISD	GARLAND, 75040Suburb: Large	9–12	High	2,484
OAK CLIFF FAITH FAMILY ACADEMY	Profile	WAXAHACHIE FAITH FAMILY ACADEMY	DESOTO, 75115City: Large	PK–12	Charter	2,473
PEARCE H S	Profile	RICHARDSON ISD	RICHARDSON, 75080City: Midsize	9–12	High	2,443
MESQUITE H S	Profile	MESQUITE ISD	MESQUITE, 75149Suburb: Large	9–12	High	2,388
NIMITZ H S	Profile	IRVING ISD	IRVING, 75060City: Large	9–12	High	2,361
ROWLETT H S	Profile	GARLAND ISD	ROWLETT, 75088Suburb: Large	9–12	High	2,356
BERKNER H S	Profile	RICHARDSON ISD	RICHARDSON, 75081City: Midsize	9–12	High	2,290
BRYAN ADAMS H S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	Profile	DALLAS ISD	DALLAS, 75228City: Large	9–12	High	2,271

DUNCANVILLE H S

DUNCANVILLE ISD

DUNCANVILLE, 75116 / Suburb: Large

Profile8–12High4,501 students

SKYLINE H S

DALLAS ISD

DALLAS, 75227 / City: Large

Profile9–12High4,166 students

COPPELL H S

COPPELL ISD

COPPELL, 75019 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High3,955 students

SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE H S

GRAND PRAIRIE ISD

GRAND PRAIRIE, 75052 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High3,351 students

HORN H S

MESQUITE ISD

MESQUITE, 75181 / Rural: Fringe

Profile9–12High3,029 students

GRAND PRAIRIE H S

GRAND PRAIRIE ISD

GRAND PRAIRIE, 75050 / Suburb: Large

Profile8–12High3,001 students

SACHSE H S

GARLAND ISD

SACHSE, 75048 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High2,997 students

LAKE HIGHLANDS H S

RICHARDSON ISD

DALLAS, 75238 / City: Large

Profile9–12High2,896 students

N GARLAND H S

GARLAND ISD

GARLAND, 75042 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High2,802 students

RICHARDSON H S

RICHARDSON ISD

RICHARDSON, 75080 / City: Midsize

Profile9–12High2,773 students

MACARTHUR H S

IRVING ISD

IRVING, 75062 / City: Large

Profile9–12High2,586 students

IRVING H S

IRVING ISD

IRVING, 75061 / City: Large

Profile9–12High2,519 students

GARLAND H S

GARLAND ISD

GARLAND, 75040 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High2,484 students

OAK CLIFF FAITH FAMILY ACADEMY

WAXAHACHIE FAITH FAMILY ACADEMY

DESOTO, 75115 / City: Large

ProfilePK–12Charter2,473 students

PEARCE H S

RICHARDSON ISD

RICHARDSON, 75080 / City: Midsize

Profile9–12High2,443 students

MESQUITE H S

MESQUITE ISD

MESQUITE, 75149 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High2,388 students

NIMITZ H S

IRVING ISD

IRVING, 75060 / City: Large

Profile9–12High2,361 students

ROWLETT H S

GARLAND ISD

ROWLETT, 75088 / Suburb: Large

Profile9–12High2,356 students

BERKNER H S

RICHARDSON ISD

RICHARDSON, 75081 / City: Midsize

Profile9–12High2,290 students

BRYAN ADAMS H S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

DALLAS ISD

DALLAS, 75228 / City: Large

Profile9–12High2,271 students

Additional School Profiles

Dedicated profile pages are generated for a subset of public schools with broad enrollment coverage. All other schools remain listed in the county table.

67 more profiles

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,296

State avg $7,498

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Dallas 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 Texas counties have the highest graduation rates?

Moore County (98.5%), Rockwall County (98.5%), and Titus County (97.8%) currently lead Texas 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 Texas?

Across Texas counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,498. The highest current county values are Glasscock County ($12,819), Borden County ($12,654), and King County ($12,630). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Dallas County?

Dallas County has a school score of 20/100, 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 Dallas County?

The high school graduation rate in Dallas County is 83.5%, 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 Dallas County spend per student?

Dallas County spends $6,296 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 Dallas County, Texas — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Dallas County, Texas?

How do schools in Dallas County perform academically?

What are the major school districts in Dallas County, Texas?

What is the school experience like in Dallas County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Deaf Smith County

Texas

+1 pts

21/100

School score

Val Verde County

Texas

-1 pts

19/100

School score

Howard County

Texas

-4 pts

16/100

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.

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