Enrollment
387
Wyoming · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 560423000214
Niobrara County High School — Lusk, WY
Federal NCES profile for Niobrara County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 62
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 21
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Niobrara County School District #1 · Wyoming
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.6:1
vs 11.7:1 Wyoming avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.7%
vs 27.4% Wyoming avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Niobrara County High School compares with Wyoming and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Niobrara County High School reports 387 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% below the Wyoming state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 40% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the Wyoming average and 70% below the national baseline. The school offers 5 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 194 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Niobrara County School District #1 spends $19,804 per pupil district-wide, below the Wyoming average of $24,788 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.4% from local sources (property taxes), 72.7% from the state, and 3.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Niobrara County High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Wyoming state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Wyoming | Wyoming avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.6:1 | ▼ 18% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.7% | ▼ 43% | 27.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 387 | top 83% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
15.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the Wyoming average of 27.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.6:1
students per teacher
— 18% below state mean
Top 25% in Wyoming — lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
31.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,804
per pupil, district-wide
— below Wyoming avg of $24,788
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 194 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 387 Top 83% in Wyoming — larger than 17% of 351 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 9.6:1 -18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.7% -43% vs state
NCES ID 560423000214
Student demographics
White 76.7%
Hispanic or Latino 16.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
African American 1.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.3%
Asian 0.8%
Two or More 0.5%
Largest group: White at 76.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 194:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.8%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Niobrara County School District #1, which includes Niobrara County High School.
$19,804
Per student
-20%
vs Wyoming
Avg $24,788
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.4%
State 72.7%
Federal 3.8%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Enrollment
- 250
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
- Enrollment
- 6
- Students per teacher
- 3.5:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Niobrara County High School
How many students attend Niobrara County High School?
Niobrara County High School has 387 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lusk, WY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Niobrara County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Niobrara County High School is 9.6:1, which is 18% lower than the Wyoming average of 11.7:1 and 40% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Niobrara County High School?
15.7% of students at Niobrara County High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wyoming average of 27.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Niobrara County High School?
The largest demographic group at Niobrara County High School is White at 76.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lusk, WY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Niobrara County High School?
Niobrara County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.