Enrollment
100
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lake Benton, MN
Lake Benton Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Lake Benton Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 66/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 271746000801
👥 S:T ratio 67
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 80
📋 Attendance 88
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lake Benton Elementary earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 66
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.3:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 35.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 100
- students enrolled
Lake Benton Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lake Benton Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 271746000801 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.3:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.3%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Benton Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lake Benton Elementary
Lake Benton Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Lake Benton, Minnesota, enrolling 100 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.3:1, Lake Benton Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of Minnesota schools and 47% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 35.3% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 100 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 97% of the 2,334 Minnesota schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 164 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #5, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 100 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 5.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Lake Benton Public School District spends $21,233 per pupil, 39% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district, Lake Benton Public School District, also runs Lake Benton Secondary (2 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 Lake Benton Elementary compares
Lake Benton Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.3:1 | ▼ 47% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.3% | ▼ 18% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 100 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.3:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
100
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
35.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 18% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.3:1
students per teacher
- 47% below state mean
Top 13% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
5.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$21,233
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 100 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 93.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7.0%
Largest group: White at 93.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.0, Lake Benton Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lake Benton Public School District, which includes Lake Benton Elementary.
$21,233
Per student
+39%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.2%
State 60.6%
Federal 13.2%
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 Lake Benton Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Benton Secondary | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Lake Benton Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2
- Students per teacher
- -
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 (~100 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lake Benton Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Lake Benton Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lake Benton Public School District'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 Lake Benton Elementary
How many students attend Lake Benton Elementary?
Lake Benton Elementary has 100 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lake Benton, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Benton Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Benton Elementary is 8.3:1, which is 47% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 47% 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 Lake Benton Elementary?
35.3% of students at Lake Benton Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Benton Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Lake Benton Elementary is White at 93.0% of enrollment, in Lake Benton, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Benton Elementary?
Lake Benton Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Lake Benton Elementary a good school?
Lake Benton Elementary earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota 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 Lake Benton Public School District?
Besides Lake Benton Elementary, Lake Benton Public School District also operates Lake Benton Secondary (2 students). See the Lake Benton Public School District 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.