Enrollment
945
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Baxter, KY
Harlan County High School
Federal NCES profile for Harlan County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 210254002213
👥 S:T ratio 43
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Harlan County High School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Kentucky median.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.3:1
- students per teacher
- 78.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 945
- students enrolled
Harlan County High School has class sizes near the Kentucky median. Computed live against every Kentucky school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Harlan County · Kentucky
NCES ID 210254002213 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
66.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 15.2:1 Kentucky avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.8%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
+33% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Harlan County High School compares with Kentucky and U.S. medians
What stands out at Harlan County High School
Harlan County High School is a high-poverty, large high school in Baxter, Kentucky, enrolling 945 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 14.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kentucky schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 78.8% of students qualify for free meals, 33% above the Kentucky average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Kentucky, bigger than 93% of state schools at 945 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,389 scored Kentucky schools.
Against 83 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #44.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment) (diversity index 11/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 315 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 27.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Harlan County also operates Cumberland Elementary School (428 students) and Rosspoint Elementary School (369 students) alongside Harlan County High School.
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 Harlan County High School compares
Harlan County High School on the metrics families compare, against Kentucky and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.3:1 | ▼ 6% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.8% | ▲ 33% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 945 | top 7% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.3:1
Leaner classes than 54% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
945
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
78.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 33% above the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.3:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 40% in Kentucky - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
46.8%
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
$13,772
per pupil, district-wide
- above Kentucky avg of $13,211
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 315 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 58 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.2 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 94.1%
African American 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
Two or More 1.3%
Asian 0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 94.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 11.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 11.3, Harlan County High School is less mixed than the Kentucky school average of 34.5.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harlan County, which includes Harlan County High School.
$13,772
Per student
+4%
vs Kentucky
Avg $13,211
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 12.7%
State 60.1%
Federal 27.2%
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 Harlan County High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rosspoint Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Wallins Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Evarts Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| James a. Cawood Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Harlan County High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 428
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 369
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 352
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 335
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 277
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kentucky, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~945 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Harlan County High School's federal record.
- Compare Harlan County High School against another school. Compare schools
- Harlan County'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 Harlan County High School
How many students attend Harlan County High School?
Harlan County High School has 945 students enrolled. It is a high school in Baxter, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Harlan County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Harlan County High School is 14.3:1, which is 6% lower than the Kentucky average of 15.2:1 and 9% 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 Harlan County High School?
78.8% of students at Harlan County High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Harlan County High School?
The largest demographic group at Harlan County High School is White at 94.1% of enrollment, in Baxter, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Harlan County High School?
Harlan County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Harlan County High School a good school?
Harlan County High School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Kentucky 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 Harlan County?
Besides Harlan County High School, Harlan County also operates Cumberland Elementary School (428 students), Rosspoint Elementary School (369 students), and Wallins Elementary School (352 students). See the Harlan County 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.