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

No. Use the Essex 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 Essex 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 Essex County?

Start with the 5 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Essex County Schools & Education

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

Essex County, Vermont

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

School Score

44/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

69.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

69.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 81.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$9,993

National avg $13,239

State avg $11,012

School Score

44/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

#13

of 14 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Essex County

Measured School Summary

Essex County has midrange measured school signals (score: 44/100) with a graduation rate of 69.0%, which warrants review in official state and district records.

Funding Context

Essex County spends $9,993 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 20% below the Vermont average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 12.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 9% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Essex 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

5 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

44/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #13 of 14 Vermont counties with school score data.

Completion

69.0%

12.3 pts below the state average

Funding context

$9,993

$1,019 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

Essex County has 5 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 Essex 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

Essex 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

#13

of 14 Vermont counties with school score data. The county score is 11 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.

Canaan School District

High school only in this slice

169 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 1Other 1

2 listed schools in this county slice.

Brighton School District

Elementary school only in this slice

135 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 0Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

Canaan School District is the largest listed district slice, with 2 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 Essex County?

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

Where do students transition after the visible grade band, and is that next school inside the same district path?

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

Essex County Graduation Rate Trails National and State Benchmarks

Education data brief for Essex County, Vermont.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Essex County reports a graduation rate of 69.0%, a figure significantly below the national average of 87.0% and the Vermont state average of 81.3%. This metric is the most distinct data point for the county, which operates a small educational system consisting of only five public schools and 520 total students. The county’s composite school score of 43.9 is also below the state average of 54.9 and the national median of 50.0. Per-pupil expenditure is recorded at $9,993, which is below the state average of $11,012 and the national $13,000 benchmark. All five schools are located in rural areas, with the Canaan Schools serving as the largest site with 169 students in a PK-12 configuration. The Canaan School District is the largest of the two districts in the county. There are no middle schools or charter schools in the county's directory. Review the NCES Common Core of Data for historical graduation trends.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Essex County

Reported Enrollment

520

5 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle0

High1

Other1

2 School Districts in Essex County

Canaan School District

2 schools

169 students

Brighton School District

1 school

135 students

5 Public Schools in Essex 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 5 of 5 matching schools

Public schools in Essex County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Canaan Schools	Record	Canaan School District	Canaan, 05903Rural: Remote	PK–12	Other	169
Concord Graded/Middle School	Record	Kingdom East Unified Union School District #64	Concord, 05824Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	156
Brighton Elementary School	Record	Brighton School District	Island Pond, 05846Rural: Remote	PK–8	Primary	135
Lunenburg & Gilman Schools	Record	Kingdom East Unified Union School District #64	Gilman, 05904Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	60
Canaan High School CTE Program	Record	Canaan School District	Canaan, 05903Rural: Remote	9–12	Vocational	0

Canaan Schools

Canaan School District

Canaan, 05903 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–12Other169 students

Concord Graded/Middle School

Kingdom East Unified Union School District #64

Concord, 05824 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary156 students

Brighton Elementary School

Brighton School District

Island Pond, 05846 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–8Primary135 students

Lunenburg & Gilman Schools

Kingdom East Unified Union School District #64

Gilman, 05904 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary60 students

Canaan High School CTE Program

Canaan School District

Canaan, 05903 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12Vocational0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$9,993

State avg $11,012

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Essex 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 Vermont counties have the highest graduation rates?

Lamoille County (89.2%), Addison County (87.0%), and Chittenden County (85.8%) currently lead Vermont 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 Vermont?

Across Vermont counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $11,012. The highest current county values are Chittenden County ($13,280), Washington County ($12,845), and Rutland County ($12,596). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Essex County?

Essex County has a school score of 44/100, 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 Essex County?

The high school graduation rate in Essex County is 69.0%, 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 Essex County spend per student?

Essex County spends $9,993 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

Orleans County

Vermont

+4 pts

48/100

School score

Orange County

Vermont

+4 pts

48/100

School score

Windham County

Vermont

+5 pts

48/100

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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