5 public K-12 schools in Hilton Head Island from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
5 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Hilton Head Island's 5 public schools is Hilton Head Island High, scoring 41/100, against a city average of 46.6/100. Computed live across every Hilton Head Island campus reporting to NCES.
How the Hilton Head Island Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Hilton Head Island, SC enrolls 3,542 students across 5 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 11:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 46.6/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Hilton Head Island on this index is Hilton Head Island High, at 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 1,265 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Hilton Head Island spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Hilton Head Island High accounts for 35.7% of all Hilton Head Island public-school enrollment
That dominant concentration means Hilton Head Island-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: High. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Hilton Head Island school enrollment varies 4.2× across entities
Hilton Head Island school enrollment ranges from 301 students (lowest) to 1,265 students (highest), a spread of 964 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Hilton Head Island operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Hilton Head Island school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Hilton Head Island student-teacher ratio is 11.0:1 — 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.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Hilton Head Island
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 are the best schools in Hilton Head Island, SC? ▼
The highest-ranked school in Hilton Head Island is Hilton Head Island High with a quality score of 41/100. There are 5 public schools in Hilton Head Island with 3,542 total students.
How many schools are in Hilton Head Island, SC? ▼
Hilton Head Island has 5 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,542 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 11:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
