NCES CCD 2024-25 7 schools IL

Best-Resourced Schools in Wilmette, IL

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

7 public K-12 schools in Wilmette from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

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Schools

3,541

Students

54.7/100

Avg Resource Index

11.8:1

Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Broad resource and staffing advantage

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Wilmette has more public-school enrollment than 37% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Wilmette lands in the upper national tier on both the average Resource Investment Index and teacher staffing intensity. Those measures come from different inputs: the index combines reported counselors, gifted access, attendance, and staffing, while the staffing percentile compares the city's student-teacher ratio directly. Agreement across both measures is stronger evidence of broad reported capacity than either score alone, though neither is a test-score rating or a guarantee about an individual classroom.

The school portfolio is elementary-weighted

4 of Wilmette's 7 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 2 middle and 0 high-school records. Families comparing later grades should rely on those individual rows rather than the all-school mean.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 11-point gap between Marie Murphy School and Wilmette Junior High School shows the range hidden by Wilmette's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment: Top 63%
School count: Top 65%
Resource Index average: 95th percentile
Teacher staffing: 90th percentile

Wilmette Junior High School accounts for 21.6% of all Wilmette public-school enrollment

That concentration means Wilmette-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: Middle. 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-08-26

Wilmette school enrollment varies 3.0× across entities

Wilmette school enrollment ranges from 253 students (lowest) to 766 students (highest), a spread of 513 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-08-26

Wilmette student-teacher ratio is 11.8:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)

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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe Accessed 2026-08-26

#	School	Score	Enrollment	Level	District
1.	Marie Murphy School	62	253	middle	Avoca Sd 37
2.	Romona Elem School	56	462	Combined	Wilmette Sd 39
3.	Highcrest Middle School	55	748	elementary	Wilmette Sd 39
4.	Central Elem School	54	485	elementary	Wilmette Sd 39
5.	Mckenzie Elem School	53	461	elementary	Wilmette Sd 39
6.	Harper Elem School	52	366	elementary	Wilmette Sd 39
7.	Wilmette Junior High School	51	766	middle	Wilmette Sd 39

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Wilmette

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 Wilmette?

Which Wilmette school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Marie Murphy School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Wilmette schools in this federal-data comparison at 62/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Wilmette, IL? ▼

Wilmette has 7 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,541 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 11.8:1.

Other Cities in Illinois

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Illinois →

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.