Enrollment
245
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Hector, MN
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270002300704
👥 S:T ratio 46
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.6:1
- students per teacher
- 42.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 245
- students enrolled
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart · Minnesota
NCES ID 270002300704 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.7%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Hector, Minnesota, enrolling 245 students.
At 13.6:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 42.7% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 245 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 247 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #185, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (18%) (diversity index 39/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, also runs Buffalo Lake-Hector Elementary (186 students).
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 Lake-Hector Secondary compares
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.6:1 | ▼ 14% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.7% | ▼ 0% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 245 | top 52% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.6:1
Leaner classes than 61% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
245
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
42.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 0% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.6:1
students per teacher
- 14% below state mean
Top 42% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
30.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,299
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.8 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 75.5%
Hispanic or Latino 18.4%
Two or More 4.9%
African American 0.8%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 75.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 39.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 39.4, Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, which includes Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary.
$12,299
Per student
-19%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.4%
State 66.3%
Federal 10.3%
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 Lake-Hector Secondary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Lake-Hector Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 186
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~245 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary's federal record.
- Compare Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary against another school. Compare schools
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart'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 Lake-Hector Secondary
How many students attend Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary?
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary has 245 students enrolled. It is a public school in Hector, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary is 13.6:1, which is 14% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 13% 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 Lake-Hector Secondary?
42.7% of students at Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary is White at 75.5% of enrollment, in Hector, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary?
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary a good school?
Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. 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 Lake-Hector-Stewart?
Besides Buffalo Lake-Hector Secondary, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart also operates Buffalo Lake-Hector Elementary (186 students). See the Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 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.