Enrollment
270
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Buffalo, TX
Buffalo El
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481199000700
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 55
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buffalo El earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Buffalo · Resource Index
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.3:1
- small classes for Texas
- 62.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Buffalo El has class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Buffalo El ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Buffalo, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.6%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buffalo El
Buffalo El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Buffalo, Texas, enrolling 270 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 62.6% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 270 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 745 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #188.
Its student body is led by White (51%) and Hispanic or Latino (41%) (diversity index 57/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 270 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
17.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 16.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Buffalo Isd also operates Buffalo J H (414 students) and Buffalo H S (304 students) alongside Buffalo El.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Buffalo El compares
Buffalo El on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.6% | ▲ 1% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 270 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.3:1
Leaner classes than 73% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
270
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
62.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.3:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 26% in Texas - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
17.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,372
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $13,644
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 270 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 50.7%
Hispanic or Latino 40.7%
Two or More 4.8%
African American 2.6%
Asian 1.1%
Largest group: White at 50.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 57.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 57.4, Buffalo El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buffalo Isd, which includes Buffalo El.
$12,372
Per student
-9%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.4%
State 42.3%
Federal 16.3%
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.
How Buffalo El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo J H | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Buffalo H S | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buffalo El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 414
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 304
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Texas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~270 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buffalo El's federal record.
- Compare Buffalo El against another school. Compare schools
- Buffalo Isd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Buffalo El
How many students attend Buffalo El?
Buffalo El has 270 students enrolled. It is a public school in Buffalo, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo El?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo El is 12.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 22% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buffalo El?
62.6% of students at Buffalo El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo El?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo El is White at 50.7% of enrollment, in Buffalo, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo El?
Buffalo El has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Buffalo El rank among public schools in Buffalo?
By Resource Investment Index, Buffalo El ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Buffalo, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Buffalo on the city page.
Is Buffalo El a good school?
Buffalo El earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Buffalo Isd?
Besides Buffalo El, Buffalo Isd also operates Buffalo J H (414 students) and Buffalo H S (304 students). See the Buffalo Isd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.