Enrollment
1,160
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 270720000284
Buffalo Community Middle — Buffalo, MN
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo Community Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 34
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.4:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
+41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo Community Middle compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Buffalo Community Middle reports 1,160 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 51.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 41% above the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 41% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% below the Minnesota average and 58% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 387 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools spends $15,572 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.8% from local sources (property taxes), 62.8% from the state, and 8.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Buffalo Community Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.4:1 | ▲ 41% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.5% | ▼ 50% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,160 | top 96% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
21.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.4:1
students per teacher
— 41% above state mean
Top 90% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
26.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,572
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 387 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
55
in-school suspensions + 76 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,160 Top 96% in Minnesota — larger than 4% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 51.0
Students per teacher 22.4:1 +41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.5% -50% vs state
NCES ID 270720000284
Student demographics
White 85.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.9%
Two or More 4.6%
African American 3.4%
Asian 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 85.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 387:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.6%
In-school suspensions 55
Out-of-school suspensions 76
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools, which includes Buffalo Community Middle.
$15,572
Per student
-26%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.8%
State 62.8%
Federal 8.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,681
- Students per teacher
- 25.6:1
- Enrollment
- 419
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 393
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 363
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
Similar middle schools in Buffalo
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Buffalo Community Middle
How many students attend Buffalo Community Middle?
Buffalo Community Middle has 1,160 students enrolled. It is a middle school in BUFFALO, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Community Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Community Middle is 22.4:1, which is 41% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 41% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buffalo Community Middle?
21.5% of students at Buffalo Community Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo Community Middle?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo Community Middle is White at 85.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in BUFFALO, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo Community Middle?
Buffalo Community Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.