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

No. Use the Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County?

Start with the 14 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Nicholas County Schools & Education

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

Nicholas County, West Virginia

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

School Score

71/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Higher Signal

Graduation Rate

96.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

96.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.8%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,393

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,773

School Score

71/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 62/100

State Score Position

#20

of 55 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Nicholas County

Measured School Summary

Nicholas County has a higher measured school signal with a school score of 71/100 and a graduation rate of 96.0%, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-score inputs.

Funding Context

At $7,393 per pupil, Nicholas County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 14% above the West Virginia average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 3.2 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 5% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Nicholas 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

14 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

71/100

Higher measured signal. Ranks #20 of 55 West Virginia counties with school score data.

Completion

96.0%

3.2 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,393

$380 below the state average

School coverage

1 district represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county screens well on the combined school metrics available here. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Nicholas County has 14 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 Nicholas 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.

Dominant-district county

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS carries most of the listed public-school system, with 14 of 14 schools. Start there, then verify whether your target address sits inside that district slice.

State position

#20

of 55 West Virginia counties with school score data. The county score is 9 points above the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 93% 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.

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

3,484 students

Elementary 9Middle 2High 2Other 1

14 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS is the largest listed district slice, with 14 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 Nicholas 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?

Which schools are missing enrollment or ratio fields, and does the district publish a newer local profile than the NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data?

Data Story

Nicholas County Graduation Rate Reaches 96 Percent

Education data brief for Nicholas County, West Virginia.

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

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Nicholas County records a high school graduation rate of 96.0%, which is notably higher than the West Virginia state average of 92.8% and the national average of 87.0%. The county's single school district, Nicholas County Schools, oversees 14 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,484 students. Most of these schools are in rural locales, with only one school classified as being in a town. Nicholas County High School is the largest facility, serving 730 students. The county’s per-pupil expenditure is $7,393, which is slightly below the state average of $7,773 and well below the national spending level of $13,000 per student. The composite school score for the county is 70.9, exceeding both the state average of 62.3 and the national median of 50.0. Consult the NCES for historical graduation data by district.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Nicholas County

Reported Enrollment

3,484

13 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary9

Middle2

High2

Other1

1 School District in Nicholas County

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

Guide

14 schools

3,484 students enrolled

Open district guide

14 Public Schools in Nicholas 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 14 of 14 matching schools

Public schools in Nicholas County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
NICHOLAS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	SUMMERSVILLE, 26651Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	730
SUMMERSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	SUMMERSVILLE, 26651Rural: Fringe	6–8	Middle	555
SUMMERSVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	SUMMERSVILLE, 26651Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	361
RICHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	CRAIGSVILLE, 26205Rural: Distant	9–12	High	340
GAULEY RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	CRAIGSVILLE, 26205Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	332
PANTHER CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	NETTIE, 26681Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	245
RICHWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	RICHWOOD, 26261Rural: Distant	6–8	Middle	229
GLADE CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	SUMMERSVILLE, 26651Rural: Fringe	PK–5	Primary	152
CHERRY RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	RICHWOOD, 26261Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	151
MT LOOKOUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	MT LOOKOUT, 26678Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	122
MT NEBO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	MT. NEBO, 26679Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	110
ZELA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	SUMMERSVILLE, 26651Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	80
BIRCH RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	BIRCH RIVER, 26610Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	77
NICHOLAS COUNTY CAREER/TECHNICAL CENTER	Record	NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS	CRAIGSVILLE, 26205Rural: Distant	—	Vocational	—

NICHOLAS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

SUMMERSVILLE, 26651 / Rural: Fringe

Record9–12High730 students

SUMMERSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

SUMMERSVILLE, 26651 / Rural: Fringe

Record6–8Middle555 students

SUMMERSVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

SUMMERSVILLE, 26651 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary361 students

RICHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

CRAIGSVILLE, 26205 / Rural: Distant

Record9–12High340 students

GAULEY RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

CRAIGSVILLE, 26205 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary332 students

PANTHER CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

NETTIE, 26681 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary245 students

RICHWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

RICHWOOD, 26261 / Rural: Distant

Record6–8Middle229 students

GLADE CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

SUMMERSVILLE, 26651 / Rural: Fringe

RecordPK–5Primary152 students

CHERRY RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

RICHWOOD, 26261 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary151 students

MT LOOKOUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

MT LOOKOUT, 26678 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary122 students

MT NEBO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

MT. NEBO, 26679 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary110 students

ZELA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

SUMMERSVILLE, 26651 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary80 students

BIRCH RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

BIRCH RIVER, 26610 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary77 students

NICHOLAS COUNTY CAREER/TECHNICAL CENTER

NICHOLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

CRAIGSVILLE, 26205 / Rural: Distant

RecordVocationalEnrollment not available

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,393

State avg $7,773

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Nicholas 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 Nicholas County?

Nicholas County has a school score of 71/100, which is a higher 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 Nicholas County?

The high school graduation rate in Nicholas County is 96.0%, 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 Nicholas County spend per student?

Nicholas County spends $7,393 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

Mason County

West Virginia

-1 pts

70/100

School score

Putnam County

West Virginia

+2 pts

73/100

School score

Calhoun County

West Virginia

+3 pts

74/100

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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