Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools.
26 public K-12 schools in Bentonville from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Bentonville has more public-school enrollment than 93% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Bentonville is among the largest city school systems in this directory by enrollment, but its campuses are divided among 5 districts. That combination matters: citywide averages blend separate budgets, staffing policies, attendance boundaries, and program rules. For a family comparing schools here, the district column is as important as the city average; two nearby campuses may answer to different boards and draw on different F-33 funding pools.
The school portfolio is elementary-weighted
18 of Bentonville's 26 listed schools are elementary campuses. That composition means citywide enrollment and staffing averages are influenced more by early-grade operating patterns than by the city's 3 middle and 1 high-school records. Families comparing later grades should rely on those individual rows rather than the all-school mean.
Governance mix is central to a fair comparison
7 of 26 listed Bentonville campuses are reported as charters, so district-run and charter records occupy substantial shares of the same city view. They may follow different governance, enrollment, and program structures even when their mailing city matches. The 52-point gap between Hope Academy of Nwa Elementary and Vaughn Elementary should be read within that context, not as a single-system league table. Check charter status and district affiliation before comparing two nearby schools, and verify current admissions rules with the operator.
City enrollment
Top 7%
School count
Top 10%
Resource Index average
67th percentile
Teacher staffing
32nd percentile
Arkansas Connections Academy High accounts for 22.8% of all Bentonville public-school enrollment
That concentration means Bentonville-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: Combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Bentonville school enrollment varies 1144× across entities
Bentonville school enrollment ranges from 4 students (lowest) to 4,575 students (highest), a spread of 4,571 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Bentonville operates 5 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country
Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Bentonville student-teacher ratio is 17.2:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Bentonville is typically wider than the Bentonville-aggregate figure suggests.
27% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Bentonville
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
What do families ask about schools in Bentonville?
Which Bentonville school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼
Hope Academy of Nwa Elementary has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Bentonville schools in this federal-data comparison at 71/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
How many schools are in Bentonville, AR? ▼
Bentonville has 26 public schools with a total enrollment of 20,046 students. 7 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 17.2:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes:
verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
