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

No. Use the Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Lincoln County Schools & Education

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

Lincoln County, West Virginia

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

School Score

59/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.8%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,433

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,773

School Score

59/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 62/100

State Score Position

#30

of 55 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Lincoln County

Measured School Summary

Lincoln County performs at an average level with a school score of 59/100 and a solid graduation rate of 92.0%.

Funding Context

At $7,433 per pupil, Lincoln County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 5% below the West Virginia average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 0.8 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 4% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Lincoln 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

8 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

59/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #30 of 55 West Virginia counties with school score data.

Completion

92.0%

0.8 pts below the state average

Funding context

$7,433

$340 below the state average

School coverage

1 district 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

Lincoln County has 8 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 Lincoln 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

Lincoln 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

#30

of 55 West Virginia counties with school score data. The county score is 3 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.

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

2,942 students

Elementary 6Middle 1High 1Other 0

8 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS is the largest listed district slice, with 8 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 Lincoln 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

All Lincoln County Schools Located in Rural Settings

Education data brief for Lincoln County, West Virginia.

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

Lead metric:District structure

Lincoln County features a distinctive school environment where all eight of its public schools are classified by the NCES as rural. Lincoln County Schools serves 2,942 students, with Lincoln County High School being the largest facility at 852 students. The county's graduation rate of 92.0% is higher than the national average of 87.0% and nearly reaches the West Virginia state average of 92.8%. Per-pupil expenditure is $7,433, which is lower than the state average of $7,773 and the national average of $13,000. The county composite school score is 58.6, below the state average of 62.3 but higher than the national median of 50.0. Aside from the high school, the system includes six elementary schools and one middle school. No data is available for bachelor's degree attainment. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Lincoln County

Reported Enrollment

2,942

8 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary6

Middle1

High1

Other0

1 School District in Lincoln County

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

8 schools

2,942 students enrolled

8 Public Schools in Lincoln 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

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Showing 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Lincoln County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	HAMLIN, 25523Rural: Distant	9–12	High	852
WEST HAMLIN ELEMENTARY	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	WEST HAMLIN, 25571Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	435
HAMLIN PK-8	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	HAMLIN, 25523Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	434
DUVAL PK-8	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	GRIFFITHSVILLE, 25521Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	351
HARTS PK-8	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	HARTS, 25524Rural: Distant	PK–8	Primary	303
MIDWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	ALUM CREEK, 25003Rural: Fringe	PK–5	Primary	256
GUYAN VALLEY MIDDLE	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	BRANCHLAND, 25506Rural: Distant	6–8	Middle	235
RANGER ELEMENTARY	Record	LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	RANGER, 25557Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	76

LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

HAMLIN, 25523 / Rural: Distant

Record9–12High852 students

WEST HAMLIN ELEMENTARY

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

WEST HAMLIN, 25571 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary435 students

HAMLIN PK-8

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

HAMLIN, 25523 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary434 students

DUVAL PK-8

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

GRIFFITHSVILLE, 25521 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary351 students

HARTS PK-8

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

HARTS, 25524 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–8Primary303 students

MIDWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

ALUM CREEK, 25003 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–5Primary256 students

GUYAN VALLEY MIDDLE

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

BRANCHLAND, 25506 / Rural: Distant

Record6–8Middle235 students

RANGER ELEMENTARY

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

RANGER, 25557 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary76 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,433

State avg $7,773

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Lincoln 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 West Virginia counties have the highest graduation rates?

Harrison County (98.0%), Ohio County (98.0%), and Putnam County (98.0%) currently lead West Virginia 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 West Virginia?

Across West Virginia counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,773. The highest current county values are Doddridge County ($12,943), Wetzel County ($11,343), and Tyler County ($10,519). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Lincoln County?

Lincoln County has a school score of 59/100, 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 Lincoln County?

The high school graduation rate in Lincoln County is 92.0%, 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 Lincoln County spend per student?

Lincoln County spends $7,433 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

Mingo County

West Virginia

+0 pts

59/100

School score

Hancock County

West Virginia

-0 pts

58/100

School score

Randolph County

West Virginia

+1 pts

59/100

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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