Enrollment
1,827
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Gaffney, SC
Gaffney High
Federal NCES profile for Gaffney High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 450150000285
👥 S:T ratio 30
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Gaffney High earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of South Carolina schools. It is also one of the largest schools in South Carolina.
- #10 of 11
- public schools in Gaffney · Resource Index
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.6:1
- large classes for South Carolina
- 79.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Gaffney High has class sizes larger than 89% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Gaffney High ranks #10 of 11 public schools in Gaffney, SC.
School address
District: Cherokee 01 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450150000285 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
104.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
79.9%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gaffney High compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Gaffney High
Gaffney High is a high-poverty, large high school in Gaffney, South Carolina, enrolling 1,827 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.6:1 is larger than about 89% of South Carolina schools and 23% above the 14.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 79.9% lands close to the South Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in South Carolina, bigger than 97% of state schools at 1,827 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Its student body is led by White (52%) and African American (30%) (diversity index 62/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 13 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 305 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 16.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 820 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 1,827 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 135 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Cherokee 01 also operates Gaffney Middle (851 students) and B. D. Lee Elementary (603 students) alongside Gaffney High.
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 Gaffney High compares
Gaffney High 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 | 17.6:1 | ▲ 23% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 79.9% | ▲ 8% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,827 | top 3% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.6:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,827
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
79.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% 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
17.6:1
students per teacher
- 23% above state mean
Top 89% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.3%
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
$14,030
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Carolina avg of $14,558
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 305 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
421
in-school suspensions + 399 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 23.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 44.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 135 expulsions.
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 51.9%
African American 29.9%
Hispanic or Latino 14.3%
Two or More 2.5%
Asian 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 51.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 62.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 62.0, Gaffney High is more mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cherokee 01, which includes Gaffney High.
$14,030
Per student
-4%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.3%
State 45.1%
Federal 16.6%
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 Gaffney High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaffney Middle | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| B. D. Lee Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Grassy Pond Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Blacksburg High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Limestone-Central Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Gaffney High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 851
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 603
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 519
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 482
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 436
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
Similar high 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 (~1,827 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Gaffney High's federal record.
- Compare Gaffney High against another school. Compare schools
- Cherokee 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 Gaffney High
How many students attend Gaffney High?
Gaffney High has 1,827 students enrolled. It is a high school in Gaffney, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gaffney High?
The student-teacher ratio at Gaffney High is 17.6:1, which is 23% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 12% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Gaffney High?
79.9% of students at Gaffney High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gaffney High?
The largest demographic group at Gaffney High is White at 51.9% of enrollment, in Gaffney, SC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gaffney High?
Gaffney High has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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 Gaffney High rank among public schools in Gaffney?
By Resource Investment Index, Gaffney High ranks #10 of 11 public schools in Gaffney, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Gaffney on the city page.
Is Gaffney High a good school?
Gaffney High earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of South Carolina schools. It is also one of the largest schools in South Carolina. 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 Cherokee 01?
Besides Gaffney High, Cherokee 01 also operates Gaffney Middle (851 students), B. D. Lee Elementary (603 students), and Grassy Pond Elementary (519 students). See the Cherokee 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.