Enrollment
272
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Custer, SD
Custer High School - 01
Federal NCES profile for Custer High School - 01, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 461695000155
👥 S:T ratio 50
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Custer High School - 01 earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Dakota median.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Custer · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- students per teacher
- 12.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Custer High School - 01 has class sizes near the South Dakota median. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Custer High School - 01 ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Custer, SD.
School address
District: Custer School District 16-1 · South Dakota
NCES ID 461695000155 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.0%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Custer High School - 01 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Custer High School - 01
Custer High School - 01 is a lower-poverty, mid-sized high school in Custer, South Dakota, enrolling 272 students.
At 12.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the South Dakota median, within a few percentage points of the 13.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 12.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 272 puts it in the larger third of South Dakota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 691 scored South Dakota schools.
Against 84 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #51.
Its student body is predominantly White (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 3 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 272 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 20.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Custer School District 16-1 also operates Custer Elementary - 02 (269 students) and Hermosa Elementary - 04 (181 students) alongside Custer High School - 01.
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 Custer High School - 01 compares
Custer High School - 01 on the metrics families compare, against South Dakota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Dakota | South Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 9% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.0% | ▼ 58% | 28.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 272 | top 26% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
272
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
12.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 58% below the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 41% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.6%
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
$13,911
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Dakota avg of $13,477
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 272 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.8 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 84.6%
Hispanic or Latino 7.4%
Two or More 5.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.8%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 84.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 27.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 27.5, Custer High School - 01 is about as mixed as the South Dakota school average of 27.6.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Custer School District 16-1, which includes Custer High School - 01.
$13,911
Per student
+3%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 77.4%
State 2.4%
Federal 20.2%
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 Custer High School - 01 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer Elementary - 02 | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hermosa Elementary - 04 | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Custer Jr. High - 05 | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Custer High School - 01's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 269
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 181
- Students per teacher
- 8.2:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 101
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~272 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Custer High School - 01's federal record.
- Compare Custer High School - 01 against another school. Compare schools
- Custer School District 16-1'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 Custer High School - 01
How many students attend Custer High School - 01?
Custer High School - 01 has 272 students enrolled. It is a high school in Custer, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Custer High School - 01?
The student-teacher ratio at Custer High School - 01 is 12.4:1, which is 9% lower than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 21% 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 Custer High School - 01?
12.0% of students at Custer High School - 01 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Custer High School - 01?
The largest demographic group at Custer High School - 01 is White at 84.6% of enrollment, in Custer, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Custer High School - 01?
Custer High School - 01 has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Custer High School - 01 rank among public schools in Custer?
By Resource Investment Index, Custer High School - 01 ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Custer, SD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Custer on the city page.
Is Custer High School - 01 a good school?
Custer High School - 01 earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Dakota 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 Custer School District 16-1?
Besides Custer High School - 01, Custer School District 16-1 also operates Custer Elementary - 02 (269 students), Hermosa Elementary - 04 (181 students), and Custer Jr. High - 05 (101 students). See the Custer School District 16-1 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.