Enrollment
66
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Buffalo, SD
Harding County High School - 01
Federal NCES profile for Harding County High School - 01, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 460930000088
👥 S:T ratio 62
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 74
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Harding County High School - 01 earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of South Dakota schools.
- #2 of 3
- public schools in Buffalo · Resource Index
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.4:1
- small classes for South Dakota
- 16.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Harding County High School - 01 has class sizes smaller than 83% of South Dakota schools. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Harding County High School - 01 ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Buffalo, SD.
School address
District: Harding County School District 31-1 · South Dakota
NCES ID 460930000088 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.4:1
vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.1%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Harding County High School - 01 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Harding County High School - 01
Harding County High School - 01 is a lower-poverty, mid-sized high school in Buffalo, South Dakota, enrolling 66 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Dakota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 16.1% lands close to the South Dakota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 66 students, its enrollment sits close to the South Dakota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 691 scored South Dakota schools.
Against 117 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #60.
Its student body is predominantly White (99% of enrollment) (diversity index 3/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 4 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 132 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Harding County School District 31-1 spends $17,270 per pupil, 28% above the South Dakota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 15.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Harding County School District 31-1 also operates Buffalo Elementary - 02 (101 students) and Harding County Middle School - 03 (60 students) alongside Harding County 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 Harding County High School - 01 compares
Harding County 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 | 9.4:1 | ▼ 31% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.1% | ▼ 44% | 28.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 66 | top 63% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.4:1
Leaner classes than 91% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
66
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 44% 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
9.4:1
students per teacher
- 31% below state mean
Top 17% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.7%
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
$17,270
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Dakota avg of $13,477
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 98.5%
Two or More 1.5%
Largest group: White at 98.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 3.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 3.0, Harding County High School - 01 is less mixed than the South Dakota school average of 27.6.
Programs
AP courses offered 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harding County School District 31-1, which includes Harding County High School - 01.
$17,270
Per student
+28%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 18.4%
Federal 15.0%
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 Harding County High School - 01 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Elementary - 02 | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Harding County Middle School - 03 | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ludlow Elementary - 06 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Camp Crook Elementary - 08 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Harding County High School - 01's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 101
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 60
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 8
- Students per teacher
- 8:1
- Resource Index
- 64/100
- Enrollment
- 8
- Students per teacher
- 8:1
- Resource Index
- 65/100
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 (~66 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Harding County High School - 01's federal record.
- Compare Harding County High School - 01 against another school. Compare schools
- Harding County School District 31-1'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 Harding County High School - 01
How many students attend Harding County High School - 01?
Harding County High School - 01 has 66 students enrolled. It is a high school in Buffalo, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Harding County High School - 01?
The student-teacher ratio at Harding County High School - 01 is 9.4:1, which is 31% lower than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 40% 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 Harding County High School - 01?
16.1% of students at Harding County 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 Harding County High School - 01?
The largest demographic group at Harding County High School - 01 is White at 98.5% of enrollment, in Buffalo, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Harding County High School - 01?
Harding County High School - 01 has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Harding County High School - 01 rank among public schools in Buffalo?
By Resource Investment Index, Harding County High School - 01 ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Buffalo, 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 Buffalo on the city page.
Is Harding County High School - 01 a good school?
Harding County High School - 01 earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of South Dakota 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 Harding County School District 31-1?
Besides Harding County High School - 01, Harding County School District 31-1 also operates Buffalo Elementary - 02 (101 students), Harding County Middle School - 03 (60 students), and Ludlow Elementary - 06 (8 students). See the Harding County School District 31-1 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.