Enrollment
483
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Buffalo, SC
Buffalo Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450375001082
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 Attendance 79
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buffalo Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.1:1
- small classes for South Carolina
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 483
- students enrolled
Buffalo Elementary has class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Union 01 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450375001082 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buffalo Elementary
Buffalo Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Buffalo, South Carolina, enrolling 483 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the South Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 483 students, its enrollment sits close to the South Carolina median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Against 376 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #48.
Its student body is led by White (45%) and African American (35%) (diversity index 65/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 483 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 24.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Union 01 also operates Union County High (1,024 students) and Sims Middle (606 students) alongside Buffalo Elementary.
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 Elementary compares
Buffalo Elementary on the metrics families compare, against South Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.1:1 | ▼ 15% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 483 | top 58% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.1:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
483
Bigger than 59% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 35% above the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 22% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
8.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,834
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Carolina avg of $14,558
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 483 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 64 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.1 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 45.3%
African American 34.6%
Two or More 15.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 45.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 65.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 65.0, Buffalo Elementary is more mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union 01, which includes Buffalo Elementary.
$11,834
Per student
-19%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.7%
State 53.3%
Federal 24.0%
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 Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sims Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Jonesville Elementary Middle | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Monarch Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Foster Park Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buffalo Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,024
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 606
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 557
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 442
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 62/100
- Enrollment
- 430
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~483 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buffalo Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Buffalo Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Union 01'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 Elementary
How many students attend Buffalo Elementary?
Buffalo Elementary has 483 students enrolled. It is a public school in Buffalo, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Elementary is 12.1:1, which is 15% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 23% 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 Elementary?
100.0% of students at Buffalo Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo Elementary is White at 45.3% of enrollment, in Buffalo, SC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo Elementary?
Buffalo Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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).
Is Buffalo Elementary a good school?
Buffalo Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina 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 Union 01?
Besides Buffalo Elementary, Union 01 also operates Union County High (1,024 students), Sims Middle (606 students), and Jonesville Elementary Middle (557 students). See the Union 01 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.